Return of the Childe of Angelus
by Rivan Warrioress
Summary: When Angel thinks of his youngest childe, he always wonders what happened to her. Were the rumors true? Was she dead? Angel's about to find out. Rating for later chaps B/A, S/W, X/C, G/J. NOW COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**A.N. Hi, here is my latest story. Just a little note before you start reading. It is AU in that Angel did go to LA at the end of Season three, but he came back after only a year (Meaning no Connor). Willow and Buffy both have graduated from College. Also, Dawn, Tara and Anya never happened, Joyce is still alive, and Sunnydale was never destroyed**

Chapter 1

Angel lazily flicked through a book, finding himself at a loss of things to do. He had borrowed some books from Giles, and was reading them one by one. The books, mostly about demons, were boring, and Angel only read them on the off chance of seeing something that might come in handy later on. However, one chapter had taken his interest. The book, recently published by Giles' standard, was about famous Vampires, and He, Spike, Darla, and Drusilla all had chapters written about them, however, as he read the chapter about himself, wincing as the book retold some of his less wonderful moments, their was a paragraph that struck Angel as interesting.

'_It is known that Angelus sired at least three vampires. Of them, the most notorious is the second, Drusilla (see chapter 12). Little is known about the first, James, whom he sired alongside his own sire, Darla (see Chapter 7), only that he travelled alongside Angelus and Darla for many years, until breaking away in approximately 1769 and being slain in 1956 by the Slayer of that time. The third childe of Angelus was a noblewoman named Victoria, and was sired in the later half of the nineteenth century, about the same time as William the Bloody (see chapter 13). Although less than 20 years old upon her becoming a vampire, she travelled with Angelus until he was cursed and given a soul by a group of Gypsies, in 1902, and was a skilled hunter. After Darla turned her back on Angelus after he gained his soul and stopped killing people, Victoria left the group as well, after taking part in the massacre of the Gypsy tribe. This is suspected to be partially out of loyalty to her sire, although there is speculation that Darla abandoned Victoria. At the time, there were reports that the relationship between Angelus and Victoria very much resembled that of a father and daughter, while the one between Angelus and Darla, and his one with Drusilla was more of a sexual relationship. The last confirmed sighting of Victoria was in 1910, when she killed an entire village because she discovered that a survivor of the group that had given Angelus back his soul was living there. Although it was rumoured that Victoria was onboard the Titanic on it's fateful crossing of the Atlantic in 1912, it was never confirmed. It is generally suspected that Victoria was slain at some point in the early twentieth century, the first of Angelus's childe to be slain.'_

Angel leant back in his chair, thoughtful. Few books mentioned Victoria, mostly because she was simply not as notorious as the rest of the group had been. The attack on that village in 1910 was the only massacre that Angel knew of her leading. Angel hadn't seen or heard from her since he had regained his soul. He sighed, even as a vampire she'd been gentle and kind and innocent. He supposed it was because she'd only been 18 when he'd bitten her. He smiled as a memory of her flittered across his mind. She had her human face on, and was gazing up at him adoringly, seeking his approval, as she'd just beaten Spike in a fight, one of the few times that had happened. The author had been quite correct when they'd written that their relationship had been parental. Angelus had doted on her, often calling her 'his baby', or just 'baby'. She had responded by imitating Drusilla and calling him 'Dad', or 'Father.'

He hadn't though about her in a long time, but his recent re-exposure to Drusilla, and his ongoing contact with Spike, as well as the paragraph in the book brought his memories flooding back. He thought of the day he had sired her. She'd been young, frightened, and innocent when he'd first seen her, fleeing from her drunken father, bleeding profusely from a gash in her neck given to her by a glass bottle. She'd been an easy target for him to grab and pull into an alleyway, where he'd bitten her, prepared to drain and kill her, but something had made him stop. Maybe it was her looks, her youthful beauty, maybe he just sensed something about her, but he had stopped, just before she had died in his arms, and slit his wrist with his teeth and held the dripping cut over her mouth, allowing his blood to run into her mouth. Once he'd been satisfied that she had swallowed enough, he'd laid her down, and scurried away to watch as her body was discovered. It was taken to her family's crypt, where Victoria had been buried. That night, Angel had gone to the crypt, and had waited until Victoria clawed herself out of her earthy grave. Once she had reached the surface, weak and hungry, he had fed her one again from his own wrist, before picking her up and carrying her back to the lair that he, Dru, Darla and Spike had been living in at that time current. He remembered how jealous Drusilla had been, that her Daddy had gone and got himself a new little princess, up until Victoria began to interact with the older vampire, and had charmed Drusilla instantly, allowing the elder vampire to brush her hair, and playing with Drusilla with a eagerness that Darla, Angelus, or even Spike could not even pretend to possess. Angel had always assumed that it stemmed from the fact that Victoria wasn't that much more than a child when he'd turned her.

It was when he regained his soul that Angel realised the reason that he had sired Victoria was because he was jealous of the relationship between Drusilla and Spike. Spike had only been a vampire for two years when Victoria had come along. Angel sighed moodily, Spike had been ten human years older than Victoria, and they had shared a friendly rivalry. Spike was the dominant of the two, but Victoria would help him as much as she could. As much as Spike boasted that he killed his first slayer during the Boxer Rebellion, he wouldn't have killed her if Victoria hadn't been there. That slayer was the first, and only time, Victoria faced a slayer, that Angel knew of, and it had almost killed her. Spike had carried her out, wordlessly handing her limp form over to Angelus, before beginning to crow that he'd killed a slayer.

Deep down, Angel was proud of his childes. All of them had survived at least twenty years as well known and often hunted vampires. Deep down, Angel also suspected, though he never voiced his suspicion to Spike, that, somewhere, Victoria was still around, biding her time before re-emerging as Angelus's lost childe.

So caught up in his thoughts, Angel didn't hear someone approaching until he heard the door creak open, which caused him to jump slightly. Spike laughed as he entered the room.

"Relax, peaches, it's only me"

"Didn't you ever learn to knock?" Angel asked, and Spike shrugged.

"Meh, why knock? It's so much more fun scaring you. What are you up to?"

"Thinking" Angel replied coolly.

"I'll read that as Brooding. What about?"

Angel groaned and rolled his eyes, knowing that he wouldn't get Spike to leave him alone until he gave the younger vampire an answer.

"Do you remember Victoria?" Angel asked. It had been over 100 years since the group had broken up, and he didn't know how much of those years Spike remembered.

"How could I not remember her? She was like my little sister that I got to boss around. What brought thinking about her on?"

"I don't know, maybe just seeing you all again, you know, Dru, Darla, you. Just makes me wonder what happened to her. And then I found this about her." Angel passed Spike the book, and watched as the blonde vampire read the paragraph.

"I dunno about this thing about the Titanic, but I know Dru and I saw her in Europe during 1911. She was alone, just going from place to place, sightseeing and all that." Spike handed the book back to Angel.

"What do you think are the chances of being alive still, Spike?" Angel asked as Spike got up, and started to walk towards the door. Spike turned to Angel with sad eyes.

"I hate to say it, peaches, but I think your baby's long gone if she didn't get with a gang. You know how hard it is for a lone vampire to stay alive, and you and I both know that she wasn't as good at fighting as the rest of us were, though that probably was inexperience, but, if she had a run in with a slayer, or another, older, vampire, she wouldn't have stood a chance." Spike's eyes met Angel's, and both were silent, thinking of the younger vampire.

"So, are you and Blondie going patrolling tonight?" Spike asked, trying to change the subject. Angel nodded, dropping his gaze.

"Yes, so you have the night off."

"Excellent, I'm just going to call Red then and tell her I'm going to be home for dinner"

Spike hurried out of the room, and Angel smiled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief as he got up. He never would have guessed that Spike would have fallen in love with Willow.

Moving slowly to an old box, Angel opened it and sifted through the contents until he found a flat, tin, rectangular box. He carefully prised the lid open, and smiled to himself when he saw the contents. He carried it to his table, and sat down.

Angelus had drawn the pictures that were in the box, and Angel couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride as he looked the sketches. They were just as he remembered them, protected from aging by a simple spell he had placed upon them some years ago. He pulled the first one out, a simple charcoal shading of Darla and Drusilla, done before Spike and Victoria were even born. The next picture displayed Drusilla and Spike, and the next couple were of Darla. He skipped through those, until he found the one he was searching for. A group image, done this time in coloured paint. Spike, Drusilla, and Victoria gazed wordlessly out of the paper at him. Drusilla had a arm around Spike's shoulders, and he was grinning, probably because Drusilla was up against him, and not Angelus. In the picture, Victoria wasn't touching either of the older vampires, just looking up at Angel. She looked exactly as he remembered her looking, dark hair, grey eyes, pale skin, a small mouth, and at least a head shorter that Drusilla. Angel smiled, and flicked to the next page. This was a solo portrait of Victoria. She was in a floor length dress, facing away from him, but looking, almost teasingly, over her shoulder at him, her soft eyes suggesting her innocence. Angel sighed. It had been her trademark way of getting a kill. Putting on an act of innocence, until some young man came to her rescue, and got a nasty surprise. She had known what had worked for her, and she got very good at it over the years.

Angel felt a flare of hope as he packed away the pictures, noticing what time it was. It was nearly time to meet Buffy for Patrol, and he still needed to have a drink.

Maybe his youngest childe, his baby, had made it after all.

**A.N. PLEASE REVIEW, as it may encourage me to update more frequently. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It was nearing midnight when the motorcycle roared into Sunnydale, its rider steering it through the streets until they passed a motel. The rider pulled into the motel, and made enquiries at the office about a room for the next five nights. After inspecting the room, the rider nodded as they removed their helmet, revealing a pale face, long, flowing dark hair, and sunken, pale grey eyes. Victoria the Vampire had arrived in Sunnydale, and she liked what she saw.

She slowly walked into the town, leaving the bike at the motel. She passed people as she walked, getting many strange looks for the way she looked, and because of the motorcycle leathers she still wore. She let them stare, long used to it. Her sights zeroed in on the Bronze, and she smiled. Perfect. She walked into the club, which was quite empty, as it was a weeknight. She walked up to the bar, and ordered a bottle of vodka, her drink of choice. The Barman eyed her suspiciously, and asked for ID. Victoria rolled her eyes and flashed her (fake) ID card. Satisfied, the barman handed over the bottle, and Victoria handed him some money. Victoria waked to an unoccupied table and sat down, drinking deeply from the bottle, smiling as she felt the alcohol slide down her throat. A passing teenaged boy shot a wolf-whistle in her direction, and she merely looked at him, raising an eyebrow and shooting a 'you have got to be kidding me' look at him. She smirked when he blushed and looked down at his glass at the rejection, while his friends laughed at his expense. She turned her attention back to the bottle sitting before her, and quickly drained it. She got up, fully intending to get another bottle. Although she'd just drunk a whole bottle of vodka straight, she didn't feel any affects. She usually had to do three or four before she usually felt a little tipsy. This was what led to her surprise when she stumbled weakly, barely able to stand upright. She closed her eyes. Obviously, she should have a feed, before she collapsed. Either that, or that bloody curse had entered the next stage.

Without a word to anyone, Victoria walked, or stumbled, out of the Bronze, and struggled to walk to her motel. She made it about half way before she fell, and that was when she sensed their approach.

"Damn" she muttered under her breath, snapping a branch from a nearby tree, and turning to face the pair of Vampires that approached her. She could sense that, even compared to her, they were fledglings, still thinking they were invincible. She smiled pleasantly at them.

"If you're looking for a feed, boys, you're not going to find it here" she said, before Vamping out. The vampires stopped, before continuing to approach. Victoria rolled her eyes.

"You guys obviously can't tell when you're in over your head." She laughed, though a slight nervousness gnawed at her insides, the same as every other time she had fought over the years, especially recently.

"Who do you think you are, one of the Slayer's pets?" one of the vampires asked.

"Slayer? What Slayer?" Victoria was nervous now. A slayer, living on the Hellmouth? That didn't bode well for her. She knew she was much too weak to handle a slayer if they met. She glanced around wearily.

"You must be new in town. Being a vampire on this Hellmouth is Bad business, unless your one of her pets, of course."

"She has pet vampires?" Victoria asked, stalling for time, waiting for the vampires to get close enough that she could stake them.

"Yeah, Angel and Spike. You heard of them?"

Victoria felt the bottom of her jaw drop. Angel and Spike were here? On the Hellmouth? Helping the Slayer? That made no sense at all. Last she had heard, Spike and Drusilla were causing all kinds of Hell, and Angel had disappeared off the face of the earth, living off Pigs blood, and hiding from his past like all vampires hide from sunlight.

"As in, Angelus and William the Bloody?" she asked, just to make sure. Both vampires were within staking distance now, so she was just waiting for the information.

"Yes, the very same." The first vampire said. Victoria nodded, looking thoughtful, before, quick as anything, she plunged the branch into the chest of the first vampire. He exploded in a puff of dust while she faced the other. He snarled, kicking out, and Victoria was forced to drop the stake as she blocked the kick. The fight was short, but quick, with Victoria emerging the winner, but not without a heavy price. A large gash on her arm seeped blood, and an all too familiar ache in her sides telling her that she would be a lovely shade of purple by lunchtime.

"Thanks for the information, guys" she told the two small piles of dust, before she recommenced staggering back towards the motel, sighing in relief as she finally opened the door to her room and closed it behind her. She staggered over to her large bag, which she had slung over the back of her bike when she travelled, and pulled it open. After searching through clothes, books, and a couple of stakes, she pulled a black box out, and hurriedly opened it. Inside, encased in foam for protection, was a needle, several vials and two bags of blood. Sighing wearily, she pulled one of the vials out of its place, and held it up. It was filled with blood. She pulled the stopper out, and poured the blood down her throat. She gagged at the metallic taste as it slid down her throat, and nearly threw up. She groaned in pain, packing away the box, before double checking the curtains were closed, and daylight wouldn't get in though any other way, before changing into a t-shirt and shorts, and bandaging the wound on her arm, and sliding into bed. She lay awake for a while, processing the news that she had just learnt.

Angel and Spike were working together, with a Slayer. They were staying on the Hellmouth. Victoria sighed. Chances were, one of them would sense her, and know she was in town, and probably try to find her. She was stuck in Sunnydale for at least the next twenty four hours, and if she wanted any hope of surviving, she would need to stay for a lot longer than that. She wondered if she would be allowed to stay, though probably not, considering, in her experience, Slayers did not let vampires off, especially ones that have killed entire villages by themselves. So, even if she stayed, her survival wasn't guaranteed. Regardless of whether she stayed in Sunnydale, or left as soon as the sun set tomorrow, she was going to die.

'Damn demon curses' she found herself thinking before clicking off the light and closing her eyes


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Angel awoke suddenly, and frowned. A glance at the clock beside him told him that it was about five thirty in the morning, just a little before sunrise. What had awoken him? Buffy was sleeping soundly beside him, nestled safely into his arms. He couldn't hear anything, except for the sound of Buffy's steadily beating heart, her soft breaths, and the muffled noises of the other humans that were there. Angel could sense Spike at the other end of the house, in the room he shared with Willow, so he knew that the younger Vampire wasn't the cause. Cautiously, he closed his eyes, leaning back on the pillows.

He had often woken up like this in the last few months, a sudden feeling of sickness and weakness, that vanished as quickly as it had come. Angel sighed. It had gone on for long enough. He was going to talk to Giles about it later on that day. It had been happening less and less frequently, but now, the feeling was accompanied by pain, and Angel had no idea what had brought it on.

But as Angel lay awake in his bed, another thought came to him. Something was different in Sunnydale. Something new, and unexpected, and Angel could not tell if it was good or bad.

Knowing Sunnydale, Angel highly expected the latter

When Angel awoke again, Buffy had left to go to classes with Willow, leaving him alone in his room. Stretching, Angel dressed and softly walked to the kitchen. Spike was already there, reading the paper with a mug of warm blood sitting in front of him.

"Morning Peaches" he said as Angel walked in. Angel ignored him, getting his own bag of blood from the fridge, before pouring it into a mug, and putting it into a microwave. Once it was warm, he pulled it out, settling himself into a seat at the kitchen table, on the other side as Spike. Angel glared moodily at the younger vampire, before sipping blood from his mug. Spike laughed.

"Oh, somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

"Shut up, Spike."

"Geeze, sorry I spoke" Spike grumbled, slouching in his seat and putting his newspaper down on the table. It was going to be a long day of Angel was in one of his moods. Perhaps he should go annoy the watcher, and leave Mr. Dark and Broody to be dark and broody.

"Sorry Spike, I'm just a little worried about something." Spike looked at the older vampire with raised eyebrows. He hadn't expected an apology.

"Anything I can help you with?" he offered

Angel shook his head, "I don't think so, it's probably a question for the Watcher. You can come with me when I ask."

"Sounds good" Spike said.

"And don't act innocent, I knew that you'd try to eavesdrop on that conversation even if I didn't invite you to" Angel hid his smirk as Spike glared at him, knowing that he'd just read the younger vampires thoughts.

"Funny, Poof, very funny"

They sat in silence as Angel sipped from his mug and read the newspaper, and Spike flicked through a fashion magazine that Cordelia had left behind after the last Scooby meeting. Eventually, Angel looked up at Spike.

"Let's go see the watcher, do it now, and then we'll have most of the day to research things if we need to."

"Without the Slayer and co getting the road?"

"Your words, Spike, not mine."

"So this is a just us two vamps and the Watcher hush hush thing?'

"It could be, I don't know at the moment" Angel got up and put his empty mug on the sink. Spike followed Angel out of the room and along the corridor until they entered the library. The two vampires approached the librarian come watcher, who jumped as he saw them approach.

"Ah, hello. You two slept well, then?"

"Yep, like a bug in a rug," Spike smiled, sinking into one of the armchairs near where Giles was sitting. Angel shrugged, and sat down to, looking at the other two thoughtfully.

"Giles, I need to ask you something, and it's probably going to sound a little crazy."

"Don't say it then, I don't need another crazy member of the family to look after" Spike quipped. Angel shot a glare in his direction.

"What's the problem, Angel?" Giles asked, and Angel released a breath that he had been holding unnecessarily.

"Last night, I woke up with a sudden pain, and I felt sicker then I could remember feeling before, even before I was a vampire. It only lasted a second, though, and then I was fine. I wouldn't usually be worried, but I've just got this feeling that something is coming, something big, and I can't tell if it's good or bad, though considering where we are, I'm guessing bad."

"You are right, that does sound nuts," Spike quipped.

"And you think the two are related?" Giles asked, taking his glasses off.

"Yes, this isn't the first time I've felt the pain, and the sickness. The sickness had been happening on and off for the last few months, getting less frequent, but the pain's only just started in the last week or so. This is the first time I've sensed something afterwards though. It always happens at night, usually between two o'clock and five o'clock."

"Hmmm, this is unusual. Well, I think that, since your sensing this, it most probably is a Vampire threat, especially if you consider that, if it's connected to your pain, it's nocturnal. We could try and see if there is something that might be relevant in a book, I guess, but as to what the new thing in Sunnydale could be, I don't know. Checking prophesies could give us a clue."

Spike groaned, "Prophesies aren't always the most reliable source of information, though. They tend to leave out the details."

"Have you got any other ideas?" Giles snapped, and Angel had to hide the smile that snuck onto his face. Spike glared at Giles, before a thoughtful expression crossed his face.

"So, we're assuming this threat is vampire, and that it's significant. We could try and search for any vampires that could fit the description."

"What description, we don't know anything about them?"

"Well, to pose a significant enough risk to Sunnydale for Angel to sense them, it's either got to be a lot of vampires, or a particularly powerful one. You could search through the Watcher's council database to see who would fall into that category, say, anyone who has been responsible for a large number of human deaths, is over, say fifty years old, or anyone who has a thing against slayers, and who is still alive, and then just check who is alive, and see where and when there last known, confirmed sighting was." A stunned silence met this suggestion.

"That, is a rather brilliant idea, Spike. I don't know why I didn't think of that." Giles said, before disappearing between the shelves to hook out the relevant books. A wide grin broke out on Spike's face.

"You know, he is right, you do have your brilliant moments, Spike. They are few, and far between, but they do occur, occasionally." Angel grinned as Spikes smile drooped a little.

"You're going to make me do it, aren't you?"

"Well, don't pretend Willow hasn't been teaching you how to use a computer" Angel said as Giles came back, carrying a large stack of books. He passed them to Angel, before hurrying over to his desk, where the prophesies were kept in a filing cabinet. Hooking out ones that related to the present day Sunnydale, Giles sat down in his own armchair and started to read. Angel had already opened a book, his eyes skimming over the words. Spike grumbled as he levered himself out of his armchair, and walked over to the computer, flopping down in the chair. Behind their books, Angel and Giles exchanged looks, and grinned. Spike, however, noticed, and scowled, locking his fingers together, and cracking them, loudly. Angel and Giles both lowered their books to glare at the younger vampire, who smirked, before he turned to the computer, and started typing. Angel rolled his eyes as he turned his attention to the book once again. He hoped that they would find an answer soon, who knew what would happen.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When she awoke, Victoria groaned in pain. Her theory from the previous night was certainly looking more likely. The curse was advancing, at an alarming rate. She shuddered as a thought crossed her mind. What if the powers of the Hellmouth were speeding up the curse? It was a demon curse, and the Hellmouth did all sorts of weird things to supernatural curses and magic. She whimpered again.

"I shouldn't have come here" she whispered, realisation dawning upon her. Slowly, she dragged her body out from the covers and down the bed, until she could reach her bag. Opening it up, she pulled out a small, plastic box, no bigger than her little finger. She opened it up, and pulled out a small slip of ordinary looking white paper. Vamping out, she gently pressed one of her fangs into her thumb, until it drew blood. She held her thumb over the paper, letting a drop of blood drip onto the paper. Licking the wound and pulling a face, she watched as the red mark on the paper slowly changed colour from red to orange, to yellow, to green, and then finally to a pale blue colour. She scowled, pulling a scrap of paper out of her jeans pocket and unfolding it. She read the information on the paper, her frown deepening. Her eyes flickered to the table at the bottom of the page, to the very bottom most rows. Victoria felt her non-beating heart drop in her chest.

She had only a couple of days to until her unlife ended. She looked at the clock that sat on the bedside table. It was mid afternoon. Soon, it would be night. If she could, she would go out one last time.

And then she would let herself go.

BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS

Angel, Spike, and Giles sat in a row, looking at the book that lay open on the table. Angel had found the obscure paragraph that he'd thought was relevant, and Spike had found a list of vampires that the threat could be, so now all they had to do was connect the dots. Spike and Giles leant forward to read the paragraph that Angel had found.

'_It is widely believed that Vampire Sires often have a connection to their childes, especially if they are in close contact over many years, usually starting at the Childe's turning. In some cases, this bond will continue until the slaying of one of the pair, regardless of how much time they have been apart. The strength of the bond depends on the strength of the two Vampires involved, and how much time they spend in close contact with each other. Through the bond, a Vampire may be able to get flashes of what the other vampire is feeling, if the feelings are very strong, or if the vampire cannot control them. It has been rumoured that, in some cases, upon a Vampire's slaying, their sire and/or childe, will feel the physical pain the dying vampire experiences, although due to the volatile nature of vampires, these reports have never been confirmed or denied. It is also known that Vampire's can sense the presence of their Sire or Childe, but to what extent, and at what range varies like the strength of the bond between the two. '_

"Okay, how is that relevant?" Spike asked, looking at Giles and Angel with a raised eyebrow.

"You think that this is connected to either your sire, or one of your childes?" Giles asked Angel, who paused for a moment, before nodding.

"It's the only thing that makes sense. This sharing of feelings, of the pain or weakness, or whatever it is, it's the only thing I could find in any of these books that fits what's going on." Angel explained.

Spike looked at the printout he had got from the Watchers Council website. It listed the possible vampires that had come up. Both he and Angel were on that list, as were Drusilla and Darla.

"So, you recon it could be Darla, Dru, or one of you secret love childes that I don't know about?"

"Unless you've been sensing the same thing as I have, which I assume you haven't, because you haven't mentioned it, it won't be Dru, Spike" Angel said, and Spike nodded.

"Okay, so that knocks Dru out, that leaves Darla and…" Spike glanced down the list in his hand, searching for any familiar names that might be bonded to Angel somehow. His eyes widened slightly as he spotted a familiar name.

"Peaches, you don't think it's Victoria, do you?"

"Why, is she on that list?"

"Yes, the only other Vampire that I know of being connected to you, that we haven't excluded already, on here, except for Darla.

Angel fell silent, thinking about Spike's words. He thought about the presence he sensed, and closed his eyes, trying to get more in touch with it. It felt soft, pale, weak, and light. Darla had never been that light. The pale, weakness of the presence reminded him of how Dru had felt when she'd first come to Sunnydale, only it was worse. Whoever that presence was, and Angel was near certain of who it was now, was very weak, and Suddenly Angel doubted if the presence was really a threat at all. Opening his eyes, he looked at the other two, his eyes grave.

"It's Victoria, I'm certain of it, but she's weak, weaker than I've ever felt her before, weaker than Dru was when she came to Sunnydale the first time. She's not going to be a problem."

"Poof, are you sure, it's been a long time since either of us have seen her, Hell, it's been almost 100 years. She's probably got a lot better at fighting since then."

"No, I can sense it now, how weak she is. Spike, she's weaker than a fledgling, and that is not exaggerating."

"Hang on; are you saying that this Victoria is the one that's causing these flashes of weakness, and of pain?" Giles asked, confused. He didn't know who Angel and Spike were talking about, but it sounded strange that they would be so weak, when they were obviously quite old.

"Yes. Victoria is my youngest Childe. I sired her in 1882. You probably haven't heard of her, she wasn't as notorious as the rest of the family was. I didn't even know she was still around until I realised just then that it was her I could sense." Angel explained.

"Hang on; what would make her that weak, though? I mean, she was never as strong as you, me, or Darla, back when she was with us, but she was still reasonably strong, and she's probably gotten stronger as she's got older."

"Well, Angel did mention that along with weakness, he's been feeling flashes of her pain. Maybe she's been injured badly by something" Giles suggested. Angel sighed, before leaning back.

"I don't know. If she got injured, wouldn't the weakness, and the pain, be getting better, not worse, although it has been happening less frequently."

"Maybe she's not feeding" Spike suggested. Angel blinked, before shrugging.

"Possibly, but we really can't speculate on the cause of her pain and weakness. From what you've both said, neither of you have seen her in a long time. Also, we should consider that this serves no real purpose. We have already concluded that she poses no real risk, and although I recommend something be done about her, she's hardly a priority." Giles stated

"So, what, send Slutty and Broody out tonight, track her down, and Stake her?" Spike's voice was shocked.

"Well, I, err, that's up to you really."

Angel was shaking his head, "I can't let Buffy slay Victoria, especially if she's got no bad intentions for being in Sunnydale. I'll go and find her tonight, and talk to her, and then I'll make a decision from there."

iles grimaced, knowing he'droody out tonight, track her down, and Stake her? us, but , and Suddenly Angel doubted if the presenc

**A.N. I was kind of upset about the lack of reviews I received for the first three chapters. Is there any particular reason for the absence of reviews? All reviews are welcome, even ones with constructive criticism, as they help me write better in the future **

**PLEASE REVIEW**

**R.W.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Victoria sat quietly on her bed, waiting for the sun to finally vanish beyond the horizon. She knew, in her head, that this would be her last night on earth, and she was sure as hell going to take advantage of it. Slowly, she pulled herself to her feet, and began to get ready. She pulled on her black pants, and a red T-shirt, before finishing the look with the black leather jacket she had worn the previous night and her leather boots. She looked down at herself, nodding approvingly. She ran her brush through her hair, before she turned to leave the room. Something caught her eye, and she turned back to look at it. It was her old leather duster. She smiled as she saw it. She remembered the day, over 100 years ago, when the gang had all gotten dusters. Darla had never worn hers, as far as Victoria knew, and Dru had only worn hers occasionally, when Spike or Angelus told her to. Angelus had liked wearing his, wearing it quite often. As for Spike, he had lived in his. Victoria herself had worn hers often over the years, enjoying the familiarity and comfort it offered. She bit her lip, before crossing the room and picking it up. It had been through so much, and yet it was still in one piece. Of course, that was only because she'd cast a spell on it to protect it from harm. She'd done it to all of her family member's dusters, back when they were newly bought. Over time, the spell had faded, and the material had begun to show it's age, and it's wear, but, considering its age, Victoria was very pleased how good condition hers was in. She slid it over her shoulders, and smiled as it seemed to just melt into her body. Victoria reached into her bag, pulling out a couple of stakes, and put them into her pocket. She knew, then, that she was ready. She glanced around the room, before opening the door, and out into the night.

Victoria breathed in the cool night air, inhaling and exhaling deeply; and yet not one hundred percent needlessly. She raised her nose and sniffed delicately, before she walked down the street, pleased to notice that she wasn't staggering nearly as much as what she had been previously. She guessed it was because the alcohol was out of her system. She still felt tired, weak, and drained, though, and flashes of pain still flowed over her body, though it was not too bad.

Looking both ways, Victoria crossed a street, and continued along the side walk. She was mid stride when she sensed it. A very familiar presence, close, but at the same time distant. She hesitated. No, it wasn't as familiar as she remembered. It had changed, instead of darkness; it was lighter, though not as light as others. She knew what it meant.

Angel was near, and he knew that she was near to him. Victoria cursed as started to walk again. Her hand reached into her pocket, and she clenched her fingers around a stake. She rubbed her thumb against the wood as she walked, feeling it's grain, as she looked around nervously, half expecting Angel to come lunging out of the bushes at her, stake outstretched. He never did though, and Victoria made it to her destination unscathed.

She slowly walked across the grass, looking around at the pace around her. The grass was green, and the trees large. Obviously, the park had been there for a while. She sat down on one of the swings, pulling the stake out of her pocket and flipping it into the air, easily catching it, before doing it again. She sat, waiting, gently swinging her legs to move the swing, and flipping the stake in her hands.

"Hurry up Angel, I know you're coming for me," she muttered, glancing at her watch. It was nine o'clock, still relatively early, but then, she'd left early. She scanned the park, looking for signs of anyone. The only people she saw were some giggling teenagers, foolishly forgoing the protection of a car by walking to their intended destination. Victoria figured they were heading for the Bronze. She rested her head against the chain of the swing. She could sense Spike as well now, and knew that they were close. Not within eyesight, but they were in the general area of the park. She guessed they were in one of the cemeteries she had seen. She guessed they would be doing a patrol before coming to meet her. If she wasn't so weak, she would have gone hunting at a cemetery herself. As it was, Victoria decided that she was better off in the park, where she could just wait for Angel and Spike to show up, although she did hope they would get there soon, she could practically feel her strength failing as she sat there on the swing.

BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS

Angel and Spike were silent as they strode through the cemetery, looking for any vampires. They had already slain a couple of fledglings, but there had been no sign of Victoria. Angel and Spike could both sense her nearby, but they could tell she wasn't moving, so they had decided to leave her until they had finished their patrol.

The patrol was nearly over when Angel spoke.

"When we see Victoria, I'll do the talking. If she hates ones of us, it's going to be me for leaving all those years ago. I don't want you to get involved if she starts to try and fight me."

"Is that likely? You said she was really weak."

"If she is weak, then I'll be able to stop the fight quickly. But then, she is clever, so she might not try it. It depends on how much she hates me and whether her hate overrides her logic."

"Uh huh, right oh then. I'll just be there then." Angel paused for a moment, before shaking his head.

"No, it would be too strange for you to be quiet, and she does know you reasonably well. I want you to approach her from behind. She should be able to sense you being there, but if she tries to run, it'll be easier if we've got her surrounded. Hopefully she won't feel threatened."

They walked towards the park in silence, neither Vampire speaking, knowing that everything that needed saying had already been said. They both knew what the other was thinking. Indeed, they were thinking the exact same thing.

What would they find in the park?

When they turned a corner, and the park came into sight, they could both tell it was deserted, except for the one they were searching for. Spike broke away from Angel's side and ran through the night so that he could approach the park from a different direction. Angel walked forward slowly, his eyes fixed on the small figure that sat on the swing. From a distance, it looked like she hadn't changed, but as he got closer, he could spot miniscule differences. She was thinner than he remembered, although she'd always been small, and her skin was more drawn and thin looking. Her eyes had become more sunken, and were marked with shadows. She was looking up at him from where she sat, and her eyes were fixed on him. He could read the emotions upon her face clearly. She was angry at him, which he could accept, he did leave her when he got the soul, but at the same time, she was relieved to see him. She was also a little frightened, and Angel guessed it was because she was scared of what this new Angelus would do to her. He walked until her was only a couple of meters away from her before stopping, his eyes roving over her. He knew she was doing the same to him. He almost let his mouth drop open when she gingerly got up, using the chain of the swing to steady herself. Once she was upright, she let the chain go, but he could tell that Standing was a struggle for her.

"Long time no see," she said as their eyes met.

"Yes, it's been awhile" Angel said, wincing at how awkward the conversation was.

"102 years actually, but I'm not counting"

"How have you been?"

"I can't complain, followed in your footsteps in the '80s"

"What?"

"Got myself a soul"

"Oh, any particular reason?" Angel kept his voice casual. In his mind though, he was shocked.

"Bored with the killing of humans, it wasn't a challenge anymore, and I saw a lot of bad stuff happen, and I didn't want to be involved again."

"I guess that makes sense" Angel admitted.

"So, what about you? I hear you're working for the Slayer now."

"Yeah, in a way. We're together. How did you hear?"

"Picked it up on the Sunnydale grapevine. You have a thing for girls who can whip your butt. First Darla, now a Slayer. Do you enjoy suffering?"

Angel smiled, "Sometimes. Makes life, or unlife, that little bit more interesting."

Victoria laughed, but it was short lived. She let a small flicker of a smile cross her face as she sensed something behind her.

"Hey Will," she called over her shoulder.

"Hey Queenie, what's going on." Spike replied from where he was walking. He drew level with the others and knelt down on the other swing, looking at the younger vampire.

"Nothing much. You back with Peaches now." Victoria faced the blonde vampire

"Unfortunately" Spike rolled his eyes and smirked.

"How do you manage a Slayer and him?" Victoria asked Angel, who chuckled. Spike was looking closely at Victoria, and let out a slow breath.

"You look like Hell"

"Thanks for the compliment, not" Victoria snorted. Angel, however, decided to push the subject.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you? You look like even just standing there is like running a marathon."

Victoria glanced up at the starry sky and exhaled deeply.

"I'm under a demon curse." She told them.

"What?" Spike asked.

"What sort?" Angel asked.

"I don't know its name, only that ever since it's been put on me, which was a couple of months ago, I've been reverting back to being human. I can't feed on blood anymore; I get sick when I try. In the end, I'm practically 100 percent sure that I'm going to die."

"When is the end?' Spike asked, and by the look on Angel's face, he too was wondering that same question.

"I don't exactly know, but I'm thinking it will be some time tomorrow."

"What, as in, Tomorrow, as in," Spike looked at his watch, "the day that starts in two and a half hours, or the day after that one?."

"As in the one that starts in two and half hours." Victoria nodded, leaning on the chain slightly. Angel took a couple of hesitant steps forward.

"That's why you came to Sunnydale, to find us?"

"Not exactly. It was more of a maybe if I stayed on a hellmouth I'd get better, and you two were just an added bonus I found out about last night when I got into town, which might not have been such a bonus." Victoria explained.

"And you waited until your last couple of days to get here because?" Spike asked.

"Well, I had a week or so to go when I got here, and it was a last resort, but the hellmouth is actually having the opposite affect than I thought it would. It's speeding the bloody curse up, not slowing it down or reversing it, which kind of makes sense, considering, you know, demon curse and all."

"Bloody hell" Spike said. The three vampires were silent for a few minutes, while the two older vampires processed the information.

"Why" Angel finally asked. Victoria smiled.

"Did you know that, as far as Demons go, I'm the next worse thing to a slayer? When they say my name, they quake in terror. Some of the more intelligent ones teamed up with some very strong ones, and I got caught. They cursed me as a revenge act for all of their 'brother demons' that I've killed over the years."

"We hadn't heard about you?" Spike said.

"I was mostly based in the northern United States and Canada, and I ducked across to Europe a couple of times as well. I haven't been down in California in Years."

"So, you're what, a Demon hunter?" Angel asked. Victoria nodded slowly.

"Have been for the last Fifteen years. All kinds of demons, including Vampires and the odd werewolf. All of your ordinary nasties."

"Shit" Spike muttered, the idea of little Victoria, who, during her early years, was the one he had bullied, teased, and pushed around, becoming a feared Demon Hunter seeming alien to him, but when he looed at her, he knew it was true. There was a certain strength hidden in her face behind the pain, weakness, and weariness, that hadn't been there before.

"For once, I agree with Spike." Angel said, and Victoria let a weak smile cross her face. Both of the older vampires looked at each other, worry obvious upon their faces. They could both tell that Victoria's strength was fading fast. Angel bit his lip, thoughts flying through his head. What could he do to save Victoria? Would Buffy Accept another Vampire in the gang? Would Victoria willingly go with him to the mansion, to live? How long would Victoria survive for? He only needed to meet Spikes eyes to know that he was pondering the exact same questions.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The three vampires were silent for a few minutes, each preoccupied with their own thoughts. Spike was still kneeling on the swing, and Angel was standing, his expression, as usual, brooding. Victoria had sat back down on the swing, her head still leaning against the cool chain. She was frowning, and her eyes were downcast, avoiding the worried looks Angel and Spike were shooting in her direction. Angel suddenly made up his mind, and looked at Spike, who obviously had just reached the same decision. Angel walked closer to Victoria and offered her his hand.

"Come on, you're coming back with us."

"What?" Victoria looked up at the hand, before letting her eyes go up to meet Angel's face.

"You are coming back to the mansion with us so we can look after you." Spike slowly said, getting off the swing.

"But, err, in case you have forgotten, I'm dying today."

"Not if the watcher can find a cure." Angel said. Victoria snorted.

"I doubt he'd be able to find one, but if you insist. Dying with family, even if you haven't seen each other in over 100 years, is better than dying alone" Victoria accepted Angel's hand and he pulled her upright. Angel waited until Victoria was stable standing on her own two feet, before starting to walk back towards the mansion. Spike fell in beside him, while Victoria, out of habit, followed a couple of footsteps behind. Both of the older vampires noticed, and Angel cringed. Back when they had been together, he, or rather, Angelus had made a point of making Spike and Victoria follow him and Drusilla, and if they'd not followed far enough behind, he'd beaten them up. Spike had taken no time at all to re adapt, and walked beside Angel, but obviously Victoria remembered the beatings she'd received over the years, following two steps behind, and a little to the side of Angel, just like she had in the old days.

Victoria flinched with every step she took. She could feel her knees buckling under the weight of her body, and her vision was blurring. She started to slow down, unnoticed by Angel and Spike, who were both deep in thought once again. For a moment, Victoria considered asking for a break, but instantly discarded that. Angelus would ignore her pleas, and she'd get into trouble for seeming weak. Then, he'd tell Darla, and her unlife would be plunged into a world of extreme pain for a very long time, and Spike would laugh at her for being so weak and needy, before strutting ahead, showing Angelus how much better he was.

Victoria blinked, and mentally slapped herself. She was with Angel, not Angelus (at least, as far as she could tell, anyway.) She hadn't known Angel for very long, but he seemed a lot more considerate than Angelus had ever been. Spike too seemed different, less arrogant, and more, well, nice. Victoria sighed. It had taken her along time to get used to calling Angelus Angel in her head, and now that she was near him, and Spike again, she was confused.

By this time, they were nearing the mansion, but Victoria wasn't aware. Her vision was rapidly darkening, and she was concentrating on just breathing, which was becoming more and more necessary. She looked up at Angel and Spike's Backs, shocked at how much she'd fallen behind. Her legs were shaking too much, and she realised she couldn't walk any further. She felt a wave of weakness flood over her, and dimly saw Angel and Spike whip around, obviously having sensed it. She dropped to her knees as they reacted to seeing her obviously fading. They raced towards her as her vision faded completely to black and she collapsed the rest of the way to the ground, unconscious.

BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS

Angel froze as he felt the flood of weakness. It didn't affect him, but he still felt it. He glanced sideways at Spike, who had a shocked expression upon is face. Spike looked at Angel, their eyes meeting, before they both looked behind them. Angel dimly heard Spike swear when they saw Victoria, but he was already running towards her, his vampiric speed getting him beside her before she hit the ground. He wrapped his arms around her as her eyes slid shut and she went limp. Spike dropped to his side, having run over himself.

"She's unconscious, we have to get her to the mansion," Angel said, and Spike nodded. Angel carefully lifted Victoria, shocked at how light she was in his arms. He closed his eyes as memories came flooding back of the last time he'd carried her like this, just after Darla had tried to kill her after Angel had got his soul. He winced. It had been about two weeks after he had left the gang, and he'd become aware that Victoria had been following him, a couple of days behind. He'd stopped, prepared to tell her to stop it, but He hadn't realised until the last minute that Darla was following Victoria, only a couple of hours behind, and realised something was wrong. He had ridden through the night, doubling back to where he sensed Victoria was. He'd almost been too late. Darla had found the barn Victoria was hiding out in first, and had tortured her, before setting the barn on fire and leaving the younger vampire to die. Angel had seen her as she'd left, and had felt disgusted at how he had once felt about the older vampire. He had entered the barn, found Victoria's unconscious body, dangerously close to being turned to dust by the flames, and carried her out, before taking her back to the stable building he had been staying in. He'd spent the entire next day treating her burns and injures, giving her little bits of his blood to accelerate her healing. When night had fallen, and he was satisfied that she would make a complete recovery, he'd left, leaving one thing behind. The old, metal pendent, Celtic in design, that he'd possessed as a human, and carried as a vampire, he had left beside Victoria, as a reminder of who she was and as a reminder of how much he cared about her.

Spike's cough brought Angel back to the present, and he realised that they were on the front porch of the mansion.

"We'll need the watcher to invite her in" Spike said, and Angel nodded.

"Go get him; he's probably in the library." Angel instructed. Spike nodded, unlocking the door and letting himself in. Angel shifted Victoria in his arms, causing his to whimper slightly.

"It's okay, baby" he whispered, a slight smile upon his face as he realised how easy it was to fall back into calling Victoria that. He heard Giles's footsteps, and looked through the open doorway as the man came into view.

"Ah, Angel, Is that…?" Giles faded off, his eyes fixed on the girl in Angel's arms. Angel nodded.

"Yes, this is Victoria. Can you invite her in?"

"Oh, right, yes. I invite you in, Victoria." Angel nodded his thanks as he crossed the threshold, letting Giles see her more closely.

"She looks barely older than sixteen." Giles looked at Angel over his glasses.

"She was eighteen, actually. She just looked young for her age, and it kind of looks worse now, because she's sick" Spike added, having entered the foyer.

"Sick?" Giles was confused. Vampires didn't get sick.

"What do you know about Demon curses that turn vampires back into humans?" Angel asked. Giles hesitated.

"Er, not much, I've heard of such curses, but I don't know much about them. I could look them up if you like?

"Yes. Giles, hurry, please. She's fading fast. I don't want to loose her." Angel told the librarian, and Giles nodded, hurrying back to the library. Spike looked at Angel. The older vampire was obviously worried. When he'd just spoken to Giles, Spike could practically hear the begging hidden behind the words. He shifted as Angel carried Victoria to the stairs and began to climb.

"Peaches," Spike ran to catch up, "She'll be okay, I promise. She's lasted this long by herself, that's over 100 years. It just proves how tough she is."

"Thanks Spike." Angel looked at the blonde vampire, before glancing down at Victoria. When he got to the top of the stairs, he carried her down the passage, before opening a door, letting himself into the bedroom beside his own. He lay Victoria down on the bed, which was already made, and sat beside her on the mattress. Spike watched from the doorway as Angel carefully began to take off her duster. Once he'd removed it from her slender shoulders, he draped it over the bed. Spike stepped forward and picked it up, rummaging in the pockets. He pulled out some wooden stakes, and chuckled.

"How the heck would she be able to use these effectively?' he asked Angel, who shrugged, although he too started going through the pockets of Victoria's pants, and jacket.

"Did you find anything else in her duster?' Angel asked after a minute. Spike shook his head.

"Nothing really, a Motel room key, some hair pins, a wallet, complete with fake ID. Did you find anything?"

"Yes, I think so. I found this," Angel handed over a piece of paper, obviously torn from a book. Spike read the page, wincing as it described the painful process of turning a vampire into a human through the casting a demon curse. Although it did not mention a cure, it did confirm what Victoria had said in the park. The survival rate of the curse was almost non-existent.

"I'll go show this to the watcher. It might help with his search for a cure" Spike said, and Angel nodded. Spike ran from the room, and Angel blinked, daring the tears that he had in his eyes to run down his cheeks. He reached out and brushed her hair from her face, running his fingers down her cheek. His eyes flickered down to her neck, remembering the night his fangs had first pierced her pale skin.

Angel blinked as he saw the thin, delicate chain that ran around Victoria's neck, disappearing beneath her t-shirt. He gently pulled on it, sliding it out from behind the red material. His jaw dropped when he saw the pendent that he had left at her side, all those years ago, emerged, hanging from the chain. He fingered it gently, memories coming flooding back. Of his human life in Ireland, of Darla, then Dru, then Spike and Victoria, then his life after the Gypsies, his life in Sunnydale, and then Buffy coming, and the years since. He let the chain go, the pendent resting upon the front of Victoria's t-shirt. Angel got up and opened the wardrobe, pulling out some blankets, before returning to the bed. If what he read was correct, Victoria was sensitive to hot and cold, so he needed to try and keep her warm. He wrapped her in the blankets, having pulled her shoes off, before just sitting beside her, gently stroking her head, whispering quiet reassurance, to both her, and to himself.

Angel had no idea how much time had elapsed when he heard running footsteps coming towards him. He hastily wiped his eyes, knowing that Spike and Giles would be able to see the tears that had accepted his dare, and had rolled down his face, or had simply just pooled in his eyes. He looked at the doorway as Spike skidded around the corner.

"Angel, we found it. We found a cure!" The excitement in Spike's voice was contagious, and Angel let a small smile cross his face, especially when Giles ran into the room, a book in his arms.

"We have it, a cure" he said, obviously pleased.

**A.N. Special thanks to ****Magges****, ****wolfmoonxx02**** and ****mamby-pamby boo-hooing**** for the reviews. They brightened up my day, and encouraged me to post this chapter. The next chapter should be up by Sunday, but it depends on how many reviews I get (hint hint)**

**R.W**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Willow groaned as she heard her phone ring, and blindly reached out, fumbling for the device. She finally felt her fingers close around it and raised it to her ear.

"Hello?' she said groggily.

"Sorry to wake you up pet, but we need your help with something." There was something in Spike's voice that made Willow's eyes snap open.

"What is it? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, love, I'm fine. So is the Watcher and Peaches. We need your help on a little spell that we need doing. If I come and pick you up, can you come up to the mansion?"

"Spike, it's like," Willow looked at her alarm clock, "four in the morning. Can't it wait till at least dawn?"

"Not really love." Spike replied. Willow sighed.

"Fine, pick me up in ten minutes."

"Thanks Willow" Spike hung up, and Willow listened to the dial tone, before rolling off her bed with a groan. She got dressed quickly, and grabbed a couple of biscuits from the container in her kitchen cupboard. Then she heard the familiar sound of the roar of Spike's car. She stood in the hallway, waiting, while she heard the car door close, and Spike's feet running across the front lawn, before jumping up onto the porch and knocking on the door. She went and opened it.

"What's this all about" she asked as Spike stood on the porch.

"I'll explain when we get back to the mansion."

"At least tell me what stuff I need."

"Don't worry about that, The watcher has everything we need. Come on" Spike took her hand and pulled her towards the front door. Willow grabbed her jacket and keys, before following him out the door, pulling it closed behind her.

BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS

Willow's mouth had dropped open by the time Spike finished his story as they climbed the stairs of the mansion.

"Okay, so, Angel's long lost childe has come back and is under some demon curse that is going to turn her back into a human, but is going to kill her in the progress. You want me to do this spell that Giles found that removes the curse so she'll get better. Is that right?"

"Pretty much, pet" Spike said, walking beside her down the corridor towards Victoria's room. Willow subconsciously drew closer to Spike, worried about what she was about to do. Sure, the spell didn't sound complicated, she had brought back Buffy from the dead, and resouled Angel after all, but it just sounded surreal to her. Willow jumped when Spike touched her arm, stopping in front of a closed door.

"Willow, don't worry. She's very weak at the moment, and she has a soul. She's not going to go all 'Big Bad' on us, and even if she did, I'd defiantly stop her from hurting you."

Willow's eyes flew open as what Spike said sunk in.

"Why didn't you say she was souled? I was freaking out about another Dru or Darla running around, when she's going to be just like you or Angel."

"Sorry, pet." Spike apologised as he opened the door, letting himself and Willow into the dimly lit room. He took in the scene, Angel sitting on the bed beside Victoria's prone form, with Giles standing near the door, the spell book open. Only the watcher looked up when Spike and Willow entered.

"Oh thank goodness you two are here." Giles said, smiling at them. Willow stepped forward, so she stood at Giles's side. He wordlessly showed her the book; pointing out the spell they needed casting. Spike focused on the girl lying on the bed. Angel had taken her jacket off while he was gone, leaving her wearing the red t-shirt and her black pants. The t-shirt clung to her pale skin, and Spike realised with a pang how thin Victoria was.

"When do you think she fed last?" he asked Angel, who looked up at Spike.

"I don't know, A while at least. She's lighter than anyone else I've had to carry for a while; I could even feel most of her bones while I was carrying her." Spike could hear the worry in Angel's voice, and smiled reassuringly.

"Listen, Peaches, I'm sure she'll be okay. Willow will cast the spell and remove the curse, and then we can feed her up until she regains her strength."

"For once, I agree with Spike. Malnutrition is not a know cause of, well, death, for vampires. If they do not feed for a long period of time, they may fall into a comatose state, which may be ended by the administering of blood, preferably that of a sire." Giles added.

"Right, see, nothing to worry about." Spike grinned.

"Although that does raise an interesting point. Angel, I do believe it would be a good idea if you let Victoria feed off you for a brief time after the spell is complete, to accelerate her recovery," added Giles.

"Whatever you say," Angel said

"Okay, this doesn't look too complicated. Giles, could you help me set this up." Willow asked, looking up from the book. Giles nodded, and gave Willow the ingredients she needed. Willow nodded her thanks, before setting up the spell. She set a couple of long sticks into a star shape on the floor, before placing each of the other ingredients, in earthenware bowls, at each of the points. She raised her eyebrows as Giles handed her a vial of Angel's blood, the last ingredient.

"We did it while Spike was picking you up." Giles explained. Willow shrugged, and poured the vial into a bowl, before setting it at the last point of the star.

"Angel, we need Victoria to be in the centre of the star, could you bring her over?" Willow asked, and Angel nodded, carefully sliding his arms under Victoria's limp body, and lifting, before carrying her over to the star lain out on the floor, and carefully putting her back down.

"What now?" asked Spike, still standing near the bed.

"Well, we all need to be well and truly out of the star. I need to stay standing here, and the rest of you should be further away from Victoria than me." Willow instructed. Angel stepped back until he was standing beside Giles against the wall. Spike moved and joined them. Willow nodded, content that everything was set. She consulted the book one last time, double checking that she had done everything right.

"Okay, everything is set. The actual spell won't take very long, but wait for my ok before you move from where you are, got it?"

The three men nodded, and Willow closed her eyes and began to chant.

**A.N. Here is the latest instalment, sorry if it's a little short. When the next chapter gets put up depends on how many reviews I get (hint hint)**

**If you like this story, I have two other Buffy stories that, although they aren't connected to this one, you may enjoy. They can be accessed from my profile. **

**wolfmoonxx02****: Sits up and mentally begs for virtual cookie. Thanks for the review. I also like reading stores that have Angel(us) looking after his, er, children (usually Spike or Connor, or both) I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far. **

**mamby-pamby boo-hooing****: Thanks for the review, it made my day. I'm glad you like the story.**

**R.W.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Willow fell silent as she completed the spell, watching as bright light seemed to flash, originating from within the unconscious vampire on the floor, and casting the room into a brightness that had them all covering their eyes. The light faded, leaving Willow, Giles, Angel and Spike standing in silence.

Spike nervously licked his lips, "Did it work, pet?"

"I don't know, though I think the flashy light thing is a reasonable indication that something did happen." Willow replied

"So, is it safe to move now?" Giles asked, and Willow paused, before nodding.

"Yes, I think so. It's safe to touch her now."

Angel was the first to move, slowly, almost tentatively, towards Victoria's inert form. He stepped across the lines on the floor, crouching beside Victoria, and reaching down, gently brushing his hand against her forehead.

Spike slowly moved so he left Giles' side, until he was level with Angel.

"Why hasn't she woken up yet?"

"It was a major curse, Spike. She was very close to dying. She isn't going to recover straight away. It will be at least a week before she is back to her full strength, though it will probably take a little longer." Giles explained. Angel carefully scooped Victoria up in his arms and carried her to the bed, sitting down on the edge, and laying her down so she was semi-upright, leaning against him.

'Are you going to feed her?" Giles asked, curious. He'd never seen a sire feed his childe before.

"Yes, she's still really weak, I can feel it. It's going to be the best thing for her" Angel said, vamping out.

"Do you want me to go get some blood, Peaches? Don't want you going weak on us too."

"That would be good, thanks Spike." Angel ignored the insult he knew was hidden within Spike's words, and Spike walked out. Angel raised his wrist to his mouth and used his fangs to cut through the skin. Willow winced as she watched Angel's blood trickle down his sleave as he lowered the wound to Victoria's mouth. He watched as the red liquid dripped slowly into her mouth. One drop, two drops, three drops.

"Come on" he whispered, "bite it, show me you're ok."

He shifted so the wound was as close to Victoria's mouth as possible, returning to his human face as he did so. He glanced across at Giles and Willow, who were both watching, keenly interested. A minute passed, then two. Spike came back into the room and met Angel's eyes as he placed the warm mug of blood on the bedside table.

"She isn't feeding, isn't she?" Spike asked, and Angel shook his head, looking down so Spike couldn't see the tears in his eyes. Spike bowed his head, and walked to one of the walls, sliding down. Willow went and sat beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

Angel watched them, barely feeling Victoria move in his arms until he felt something cold up against the wound on his wrist. He jumped slightly, whipping his head around. Victoria was licking blood from the wound hungrily. Angel let a rare smile cross his face.

"That's it, little one, feed up, my Baby" he whispered. Victoria seemed to have heard him, because she moved her head forward, using her teeth to latch onto the skin around the cut on his wrist, before she sucked, drawing Angel's blood into her mouth and swallowing it. Angel ran his fingers through her hair fondly, remembering the first time she'd fed off him.

After a little while, Angel felt the pressure on his wrist ease off, and watched as Victoria let go of his wrist, obviously having finished feeding. He blinked in surprise as Victoria's eyes flickered open.

"Angelus?" she croaked. Angel paused before shaking his head.

"Not quite."

"Angel?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry, habit I guess." Victoria let a weak smile cross her face.

"It's okay. How do you feel?"

Victoria pursed her lips, "Tired, weak, basically like a fledgling again, but then again, better than I felt before. What happened?"

"We found a cure, a spell that freed you from the curse." Angel explained. Victoria nodded, nestling her head into Angel's chest.

"I missed you," she whispered, before falling asleep again. Angel glanced away from her, looking towards where Spike and Willow were. Spike was looking up at him, and their eyes met. Spike grinned, having overheard their whispered conversation.

"She's going to be fine" Angel said, reassuring himself, and the others in the room. Spike nodded as Willow grinned and leant her head against his shoulder, feeling her weariness catching up to her. Giles smiled too, before he too raised his hand to stifle his yawn.

"Well, I think I might go and have a quick sleep before it really is morning" he said, moving towards the door.

"See you later, watcher." Spike said.

"Bye Giles" Willow sleepily muttered.

"Thank-you, Giles, for helping" Angel said, and Giles nodded acknowledgement of the thanks, before leaving the room.

Angel, Spike and Willow sat in silence, Willow slowly falling asleep on Spike's shoulder. Spike gently gathered her into his arms, careful not to wake her again.

"Err, Peaches, are you right, do you need anything?"

"No Spike, you go and have a sleep; it's been a long day."

"And an even longer night" Spike replied, grinning. Angel rolled his eyes as Spike left the room smirking, before glancing down at the sleeping vampire that leant against his chest. He picked up the mug of blood Spike had brought for him, drinking it quickly, as it had cooled, and was only lukewarm. Setting the mug back on the bedside table, Angel eased himself out from beneath Victoria, sliding off the bed. Once he was standing on the floor, he looked at the sleeping vampire. He wasn't sure if she'd need another feed soon, or when she would wake up next, though he was reasonably sure that if she woke up alone, she would panic. He weighed up his options briefly, before settling on the best one. He hurried out of the room, going to a cupboard and getting a couple of blankets out, before going to his own room and getting his pillow, and returning to Victoria's bedside. Although it was a double bed, and they both would have easily fitted, if Buffy found out he'd slept beside another female, then she would most probably stake both him and Victoria, so it was safer if he just slept on the floor. He arranged the bedding, before stripping off to his t-shirt and boxer shorts, and lying down on the nest he had created, pulling the blankets over himself. He remembered the night, years ago, when he had slept in Buffy's room in a similar fashion. He grinned looking up at the bed where Victoria lay. His mind flooded with memories

Back in the days immediately following Victoria being turned, Angelus had slept beside Victoria, just in case his new baby had needed anything. It had not lasted long, however, with the combined jealousy of Darla and Dru forcing him to leave the bed in Victoria's own room for the larger bed in his own room. Maybe Angelus' own desire and lust for the two older vampires had played a part in his decision to leave Victoria as well, but, for whatever reason, he'd left her alone, and that was the way she stayed, unless of course Spike wanted to have a play, or if Darla and Dru were both away (which happened rarely, Darla wasn't overly impressed with Dru's rambling, and tired easily of it.) Angel smiled as he recalled how gently and innocently Angelus had treated Victoria in those early days. Even towards the end of their time together, he was gentler, and generally nicer, towards Victoria than any of the others. That was probably another reason why Darla had always hated Victoria.

Angel sighed and let himself relax, closing his eyes and letting himself fall into a world of slumber and dreams. The last thought that crossed his weary mind caused a faint frown to etch itself upon his face.

'I wonder what Buffy's reaction is going to be?'


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

It was midmorning by the time Angel woke up. Stretching his arms, he glanced quickly at the form lying on the bed. Victoria was still sleeping soundly, curled up on her side, with a few strands of her dark hair falling across her face. Angel got to his feet and brushed the strands back. Victoria was smiling in her sleep, and Angel noticed that her fingers were curled around the pendant that hung from her neck. She looked ridiculously young, lying there, even though Angel knew that, in total, she would turn 140 years old later that year. As that thought crossed his mind, Angel flinched. Had it really been that long since Victoria had been born? That meant it had been over 121 years since he had turned her. Angel groaned, feeling very old compared to the younger vampire.

"Thank god Spike isn't here, huh." He whispered to Victoria, before getting up and walking across the room. He quickly went to his own room, grabbing some clean clothes, before going to the ensuite and having a shower. Once he had showered and dressed himself, quickly went downstairs. As he suspected, Spike was already awake, lounging around in the living room and flicking through an old looking book.

"Hello, sleeping beauty, nice of you to grace us with your presence." Spike grinned at the older vampire, who growled warningly. Spike's grin grew.

"Relax, Peaches. I was joking. How's Queenie going?"

"She's still asleep. I'm going to have some breakfast; can you go up and sit with her so she won't be alone if she wakes up?" Angel asked. Spike shrugged, he had nothing better to do, so he nodded.

"Yeah, of course I'll babysit Queenie for you." He grinned, getting up and hurrying up the stairs, taking his book with him. Angel blinked, surprised that the younger vampire's willingness to go. Suspicious, and slightly worried, Angel went into the kitchen and got a bag of blood from the fridge. He emptied the bag into a mug, and put it into the microwave. Once it was warmed up, he took the mug and sat at the table, pulling the most recent newspaper towards him and opening it. He took a sip from the mug and sighed, flicking through the newspaper. Once he had finished with the newspaper, and his mug of blood was empty, Angel rose to his feet, rinsing out his mug, and putting it in the sink, he would wash it out later. He climbed the stairs once more, walking down the corridor to the room Victoria was staying in. As he walked, he listened, straining to hear if any noise was coming from Victoria's room. It was only through his vampiric hearing that he heard the faint murmur of Spike's voice. Angel stopped walking, and listened to what the blonde was saying.

"I thought about you a couple of time, little Queenie. Wondered how you were going, all by yourself. Dru mentioned you sometimes as well, usually when we'd just had a fight, and I wouldn't sit with her. You were so brilliant with Dru, Queenie, she loved you. I think you were, by far, the most patient of us with Dru. Of course, I had to learn patience after everything went to buggery. Do you remember how Angelus used to make us spar, and how you used to sometimes beat me? Then Angelus would hit me for letting you win. I never told you this, but I never just let you win, regardless of what the poof said to you."

Angel blinked as he remembered what he had done in the past. He remembered watching Victoria defeat Spike on various occasions (all though Spike was by far the better fighter), and that every victory she had experienced, was well earned, but he had wanted his little baby to maintain the belief that she was a hopeless fighter, to keep her dependent on him for protection, to keep her close to him for as long as possible, so he had made it seem to Victoria that Spike had let her win. It had worked, all too well. Up until the Curse, Victoria had avoided physical conflict, although on a couple of occasions she had defended Dru against would be attackers (usually demons) when the others were preoccupied, or if escaping was not an option.

Angel blinked, realising that Spike had started to speak again, and focused on the blonde vampire's voice. Angel knew instantly that Spike was reading, as he had deepened his voice slightly, and the poet that still dwelt within Spike rose to the surface.

"_An image of light, living in the dark_

_Innocent as a daisy_

_With the thorns of a rose_

_She is a child, but a child no longer_

_Innocence is robbed_

_Darkness falls_

_And the light fades away to nothing."_

Angel instantly recognised the poem, although he had not heard it in many years. Spike had written it for Victoria as a gift to celebrate her first year as a vampire. Angel smiled, before returning his attention to Spike's whispered voce, creeping closer to its source.

"Do you remember that, little one? I remember how much you liked it. I didn't know what to give you, and then I remembered you saying that you liked poetry, back before you got turned. When you loved that poem, I decided I would never write poetry again. I would end my sad career as a poet on a high."

Angel looked into the room then, and let a slight smile cross his face. Spike was sitting beside Victoria's head, running his fingers through her hair, smiling down at her. As Angel watched, Victoria's eyes fluttered open, and she squinted up at Spike.

"Spike?"

"Hey, Queenie, how are you?"

"I'm okay. Where's Angel?"

"I'm right here" Angel said from the doorway. Victoria flickered her eyes in his direction, before focusing back on Spike.

"Where's your better half?" she asked, shifting her head so she could look up at him better.

"You mean Dru?" Spike replied

"Yeah, how many other girlfriends do you have that I would know?" Victoria rolled her eyes.

"She left, ran off with a demon." Spike told her.

"Ouch, sorry." Victoria cringed sympathetically

"Don't worry about it. It was a couple of years ago now." Spike grinned, and ran his fingers gently through Victoria's hair.

"You hungry?" Angel asked, and Victoria looked at him.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Your stomach is rumbling" Spike grinned, getting up and walking to the foot of the bed. Angel waked forward, pulling up the sleeve of his shirt. Victoria realised what he was going to do before he even vamped out.

"Angel, I'm not a fledgie anymore, I don't need you to feed me." She said, struggling to sit up. Angel calmly put his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back down on the pillows.

"Says the girl who can't even sit up" Spike chimed in as Angel vamped out and slit his wrist, before offering the bleeding wound to Victoria. She glared resentfully up at both of the older vampires, before she put her mouth up against the cut and sucked the blood into her mouth. Angel looked down at her, letting a slight smile flitter across his face. He could tell Victoria was gaining strength, and would probably only need to feed from him one or two more times, but she was still weary, and even as she lay there, he could see her fatigue catching up to her.

Victoria's eyes eventually slid closed, signalling to Angel and Spike that she'd fallen asleep again. She'd been awake for awhile, compared to her brief return to consciousness the previous night, and Angel was pleased with her recovery. He gently eased his wrist out of her mouth and stepped back, walking towards the door. Spike followed him out, and once Angel had pulled the door closed, and they were both out in the corridor, Spike chuckled.

"I forgot how she did that." He said, before pressing a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter.

"Did what?" Angel asked, although he thought he knew the answer.

"Fell asleep when she was being fed. It's been years since I watched you feed her."

"It's been years since I've fed her, Spike, with the exception of last night."

"When was the last time you fed her? After the slayer in Beijing?"

Angel shook his head, knowing it was time to tell Spike about happened that fateful night when Darla had finally given into her jealousy of Victoria, and almost killed her.

"It was a couple of weeks after I, you know, got my soul back the first time. I was heading towards the south of France, when I realised that Victoria was following me, about a couple of hour's slow travel behind. I stopped, waiting for her to catch up so I could tell her to stop it, to let me go. Then I sensed that Darla was near Victoria, and I knew that Darla had never been overly friendly towards Victoria, so I didn't know why she would, willingly, be travelling with Victoria. I turned around, but had to stop half-way because of the sun. At sunset I set out again, only to find the barn that I had traced them both to in flames. I was crouched in the bushes, watching, when Darla walked out, laughing. She got on her horse, and galloped off, and then I realised what she'd done. I ran inside that barn, and found Victoria. You knew Victoria back then; she wouldn't have stood a chance against Darla. Darla had attacked her, and tortured her, before lighting that barn on fire and leaving Victoria to turn into dust. As much as I didn't want to have anything to do with any of you guys at that point of time, I wasn't going to let Victoria get killed. I grabbed her, and her bag of belongings, and got her out. I got her up on my horse, and chucked her bag on her horse, before going back to the barn which I was staying in. I spent the entire day feeding her, treating her wounds, before leaving at sunset."

"I always knew Darla was a cow" Spike said, and Angel couldn't help but agree with him.

"So that was how she got your pendant? When I saw it there I wondered when she got that."

"I left it beside her when I left, along with a note. She was still unconscious when I left though. I guess that, when she woke up, and saw the pendant, and read the note, she knew what had happened, and got the message. The last time I sensed her she had changed direction, and was heading north, towards the Scandinavian countries."

"Well, Dru and I were crossing Switzerland when we saw her in 1911, but she was heading west, and we were going south into Italy."

Angel nodded, glancing over his shoulder at the closed door.

"I'll bet she's got lots of stories to tell." He said. Spike grinned and nodded.

"Probably. When are you telling Buffy?"

"Tonight. She'll be coming over before she goes on Patrol. I'll tell her then."

"Alright. Well, I have to go. Giles wanted me to look something up for him, and I can't be bothered thinking up a plausible excuse not to do it." Spike grimaced, before moving off down the hall. Angel watched his retreating back, before smiling to himself and re entering the darkened room.

and focused on the blonde vampire'had started to speak again.t a optionf occasions she had defended Dru against would be attac


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The rest of the day passed quickly for Angel and Spike. The sun had completed its crossing of the sky, and had dipped below the horizon. Angel, Spike, and Giles had eaten dinner, and Angel had given Victoria a feed, though she had slept through the whole thing. Giles had reassured Angel that Victoria would recover; just that she was using the opportunity to sleep to allow her body to recover properly. Spike had backed up the watcher, saying that there had been a couple of occasions when he had fed a sleeping Drusilla while she was recovering from the attack in Prague. Angel had relaxed again, just in time for Buffy and Willow's arrival.

"Hey," Buffy called as she walked into the large living room. Angel looked up from the book Giles had asked him to read and let a smile cross his face as her saw the two women. Spike looked up at the sound of Buffy's voice, and grinned, sliding off the couch where he had sprawled himself, before walking across the room to Willow's side.

"Hello, love, hello Buffy."

"Hi Spike" Buffy said. Willow hugged Spike.

"I think the watcher wants to see you in the library, pet" Spike told Willow, who nodded, seeing right into his plan, and followed him out of the room. Angel rolled his eyes. How obvious could he be?

"That was weird" Buffy said, looking over her shoulder at Willow and Spike's retreating backs. Angel got up and crossed the room until he was at her side.

"It's Spike, what do you expect?" Angel joked, and Buffy laughed.

"All right, you win that point" she conceded. Angel smiled and ran his fingers through Buffy's hair, leaning down to kiss her. When they broke apart, Buffy was slightly breathless. Angel smiled, the kiss having further relaxed him.

"Buffy, there's something I need to tell you." He said. Buffy's face immediately clouded over with fear.

"What is it? Are you okay? Is it Giles or Spike? Did you find a prophesy?"

"No, it's nothing like that. Everyone is fine" 'or at least, they will be' he added in his head.

"What is it then?"

"You might want to sit down, it's a long story." Angel gently steered Buffy to the couch, and let her sit, before sitting down beside her.

"Alright. Many, many years ago, back when I was still Angelus, we were all living in London. Darla, Dru, Spike, and Me. It was Christmas time; I think it would have been 1882. I was out hunting by myself when I happened to see this girl. She was running, but she was badly injured. I, well, grabbed her, and dragged her into an Ally. She thought I was rescuing her, and started to thank me. She stopped when she saw my real face. I intended to kill her there and then, and it wasn't until that I had nearly drained her that I changed my mind. I used my fangs to slit my wrist, and I turned her. I let her get buried in her family's crypt, before she rose again the next night, and I carried her home."

"Angel, why are you telling me this? I don't get it?"

"Buffy, she's back. She came back, to me, to Spike."

"Hang on, are you saying that your long lost childe is back in Sunnydale? Damn, please tell me this one isn't crazy like Drusilla was." Buffy made to get up, and then Angel realised what was going through the Slayer's head.

"Buffy, it's okay. She has a soul; she's lying, unconscious, in a bed upstairs. She isn't going to hurt anyone."

"She has a soul? That's weird; did she get cursed like you?"

"No, she did what Spike did and went and got one."

"PLEASE tell me she's not as…" she faded off

"Annoying as Spike," Angel said for her, "no, she isn't. Not by a long way."

"Can you tell me more?" Buffy asked. Angel leant back against the couch and Buffy put her head on his chest.

"Dru was a bit odd about it the first couple of days, but then the girl, Victoria, won her over, and Dru loved her like a sister from then onwards. Victoria was like Spike in that she still carried a couple of her more human traits into her vampire being. Spike had been a Vampire for two years by then, and he loved being able to boss around someone else like Darla and I bossed him around, although he treated Victoria like she was his younger sister. He told me a few years later that he had actually known Victoria's two older brothers while he was still human, and that he had been kind of friends with her. Darla hated Victoria, mainly because I liked spending time with her, and because Victoria just wasn't as strong as the rest of us were. I began to love Victoria too, but not in the same was as I loved Darla and Dru, and the way I love you now. I felt very paternal over her. She was like my daughter. I deliberately held her back in her training so she would still be dependent on me for everything. I never let her go hunting alone, and if we had to fight, I always made sure she was at the back, behind the rest of us, or got out before the fight started. It was like that for almost twenty years. Then we went to China, and Spike killed the slayer. Victoria went with him when he went to do it, and she got hurt pretty bad. Spike carried her out of there and gave her to me. Then, well, on the way back we went through Romania, and we ran into that Gypsy tribe, and you know what happened. I left the group, Spike told me that Darla told him, Dru and Victoria to forget about me, to pretend I never existed, and to never, ever, go anywhere near me again. Then, Spike and Dru left. I don't know what happened next, but a couple of weeks later, I realised that Victoria was following me, and that Darla was following her. I doubled back, knowing something was off. Darla tried to kill Victoria that night. I rescued Victoria and treated her wounds as well as I could. I fed her my blood, and left her the next night, before she woke up. I left her a note, telling her to keep away from me, for her own good. She must have listened, because I didn't see, nor sense her up until a couple of days ago. Spike saw her once, in 1911, but other than that, we don't know what she was up to." Angel sighed, and Buffy ran her finger through his hair reassuringly.

"They can't blame you for leaving them, Angel. They both went through the same thing" she told him, seeing the guilt over leaving Victoria, Dru and Spike at Darla's mercy all those years ago in his eyes. Angel nodded, and continued the story.

"Not last night, but the night before, I sensed something, and I knew something was up. For the last few months, I'd been getting flashes of pain, or weakness. We decided that it was all connected, so Spike, the Watcher, and I did some research, and realised who it was. Last night, Spike and I went out looking after Patrol, and there she was, in the park, practically waiting for Spike and I to show up. Apparently, after she got her soul, she kept herself busy by being a Demon hunter up north and in Europe. She is apparently quite famous up there. Anyway, some demons got together and lured her into a trap. Instead of killing her, they cursed her. Willow could probably explain it better than I can, but it was turning her back into a human, but it would've killed her in the process. We were walking back to the mansion, when Victoria collapsed. I carried her the rest of the way. The, Spike contacted Willow, and she came. Giles found a spell that could remove the curse, and Willow cast it. That's basically it."

"Whoa, that is, just, whoa" Buffy shook her head, trying to process what Angel had just told her.

"You're not angry with me?" Angel asked. Buffy looked up, meeting his eyes with hers.

"Oh, Angel. I could never be angry with you about something Angelus did. I mean, Victoria has a soul, so she is safe. She's not going to be a threat."

"No, she won't be," Angel admitted, giving Buffy's lips a swift kiss, "Do you want to meet her?"

"I thought you said she was unconscious."

"Well, I think she is. She was last time I checked on her, which was just before you came, but you could still have a look."

"Okay" Buffy said, hopping up to her feet. Angel got up too, and led Buffy to the stairs. They climbed up the stairs, hand in hand, and Angel led the way down the corridor to the room Victoria was staying in. Buffy noticed that it was the room was the one next to Angel's, but did not say anything. She knew that the room was often the one Angel put Spike in if the younger Vampire was knocked out during a patrol, as Angel would be close at hand if something happened. Buffy sucked in a breath as Angel pushed the door open. Spike and Willow were already in there, talking in hushed voices.

"Angel, Willow and I are going to the motel the Victoria was staying at to pick up her things." Spike said, holding up the set of keys that they had found in her duster pocket. Angel nodded approvingly.

"There will probably be a car of some description there too," he told Spike as he and Willow walked out.

"There better bloody be, I don't particularly want to have to carry Queenie's stuff all the way back here." Spike quipped, and Willow and Buffy both softly laughed. Spike pulled the door closed, and Angel and Buffy were alone in the room with Victoria. They both moved closer to the bed, looking at Victoria's sleeping form.

"She looks really young"

"She was just over 18 when I turned her. She just looks young for her age."

"Oh, that sucks, for her I mean." Buffy smiled.

"Why?"

"Well, it must be hard to get alcohol and stuff when you look like you've just got out of high school."

"She has a fake I.D., we found it in her wallet." Angel said, "But I can see your point."

"Well, at least she doesn't look her actual age. That would be really bad." Buffy joked. Angel chuckled.

"Yeah, it wouldn't be pretty. A 139 year old walking around."

"139? That's still a baby compared to you and Spike."

"Spike is only ten years older. In vampire years, he's only two years older. There isn't that much between them, from a vampire's point of view anyway."

"Especially since that vampire is 247 years old like you are," Buffy smirked at Angel, before a slight noise from the region of the bed made them both whip their heads towards it.

Victoria's hand twitched, and then her head moved, before her eyelids cracked opened, focusing on the pair.

"Angel?" she whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Angel gently slid his hand out of Buffy's, approaching the bedside slowly. Buffy slowly followed him.

"Hey, little one, how are you doing?" Angel asked. Victoria nodded.

"Alright, I guess. I feel a little stronger now, well, more than I was before anyway." Victoria looked at Buffy, and Angel mentally kicked himself. Victoria would be easily able to tell that Buffy was a Slayer, and get scared. Sure enough, a few moments after she looked at Buffy, Victoria's eyes widened, and she began to try and move away from Buffy and Angel.

"Victoria, it's alright, she isn't going to hurt you."

"But, you know, Slayer. Isn't that her job?"

"Yes, it is, but Angel has told me you aren't a risk to the local Human population, so I'll let you live." Buffy said. Victoria quickly nodded.

"I'm not a risk, I haven't killed a human in eighteen years, and I'm not going to start now."

"That's a long time, longer than both you and Spike have gone." Buffy said to Angel. Victoria raised her eyebrows.

"You killed someone while you had a soul?" she asked, shocked.

"No, I lost my soul for a little while a couple of years ago and got into the whole killing thing again." Angel told her. Victoria's eyes widened.

"Oh, right then." She said, understanding, "Where's Spike?"

"He and Willow, do you remember her, the red haired witch? From last night?"

"Vaguely, go on."

"They've gone to pick up your stuff from the motel, since we didn't know how long you were booked in for, and well, it'll be at least another day before you're mobile."

"Okay, that's fine. Hang on, another DAY? I'm already ready to go."

"You've spent practically the entire time sleeping, Victoria. You struggled trying to get away from Buffy just now. You aren't leaving that bed until I tell you that you can."

"But Angel, I'm going insane lying here." Victoria whined, "And I liked being the sane one of the family"

"Victoria, lie down and go to sleep. Preserve your sanity that way" Angel growled, before leaving the room, leaving Buffy was confused. Why was Victoria grinning?

"Inside joke, Slayer. Don't worry about it. Angelus always used to joke, behind Darla's back, that the pair of us were the sane ones in the family. Spike always used to say that Angelus was just as insane as he was, making me the Sanest of the family." Victoria explained

"Are you? And my name is Buffy."

"Sorry, Buffy, didn't really catch your name earlier. Well, it certainly wasn't Dru, and Spike has his moments when he's a little off his rocker. Angelus did the same thing, sometimes, and Darla wasn't well known for her sanity either. Her brains yes, she is a brilliant strategist, but not her Sanity. So that left little old me, the best of a bad bunch." Victoria grinned, snuggling down under the covers some more.

"So, how long have you been a slayer for?"

"Eight years, though it feels like longer."

"Eight years is very impressive for a Slayer. Usually, they're lucky to make it to two or three years. You must be very good." Victoria smiled.

"I've had a lot of help and support over the years. You know, my Watcher, Giles, Angel, my friends, my mom, Spike."

"Sounds like a great support team." Victoria grinned.

"What about you? Angel said that you were a Demon hunter up in the Northern States. Did you have any help with that?"

"Yeah, there are five of us, though we've drifted a bit. There was an argument, and two of the team left. I got cursed a couple of days later, and as a last resort I left to come here. There was two demons, of the non human flesh eating variety, an ex watcher, a werewolf, and me."

"How long were you a demon hunter for?"

"About fifteen years, give or take. I started out by myself, but as I got a bigger reputation, the others all came to me looking for a fresh start. It all was going fine up until there was this weird love triangle thing going on between the ex watcher, one of the demons, and the werewolf. In the end, the ex watcher and the werewolf ran away together, and the demon was seriously thinking about going after them. I talked him out of it."

"Have you heard from the watcher and the werewolf?"

"Yes, a couple of weeks ago. They knew I was cursed, and tried to help, but they couldn't. They're living together in a house in San Francisco. I'm happy for them. The demon that got pissed off about it all was kind of annoying me. He was a good fighter, and he saved me a couple of times over the years, but he had a lousy attitude."

"What about the other demon, have you heard from them recently?"

"Yeah, I rang her a couple of days ago and told her I was in L.A. She's very motherly, and fusses over everyone, so she was glad to hear from me." Victoria leant back against the pillows

"Do you want me to go?" Buffy asked, noticing that the vampire looked a little tired. Victoria shook her head.

"No, stay a little longer, if you can. I don't want to be alone. Besides, I'm enjoying the novelty of having a decent discussion with a Slayer."

Buffy laughed, "What was with you arguing with Angel earlier?"

"Angel needs to grow up and learn that I'm not his baby anymore. I've been looking after myself for 102 years, that's eighty two more than he looked after me for." Victoria said, "He made it very clear when he left in 1902 that he wanted nothing to do with the rest of us, that we were on our own. I have come to like my independence. I hated it at first, but now I quite like it, though I have a feeling that independence is not going to be a option now that Angel and Spike know what I've been up to, and Angel's fed me."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Buffy was confused. Victoria looked at her, face puzzled.

"I thought you would have known. Sorry. When a Sire feeds their child his or her own blood, then it strengthens the bond between them. After 102 years apart, the bond between Angel and I wasn't all that strong, but its already that much stronger than it was, just from us being near one another, and from me feeding off him. If I were to leave, as long as he was only, say, a day or so away from me, Angel would be able to find me."

"Usually I just leave it up to my Watcher, Giles, to know these sorts of theory things. I'm more of a physical person than a intellectual one. Was the bond how he knew when you were following him just after he got his soul?' Buffy asked, interested by the idea of Sire/Childe bonds.

Victoria nodded, "Yes, and how he was getting flashes of my feelings after I got cursed, and how he knew I was nearby after I got to Sunnydale."

"And it's stronger now then when you arrived in Sunnydale?"

"Yes, because I've been fed by Angel."

The two women fell silent, lost in their own thoughts.

"Did you, I mean, did you ever sire a childe?" Buffy asked, slightly nervous about meeting any more of Angel's 'family' members. Victoria smiled.

"No, I never really thought of it before Angel got resouled, and afterwards I swore to myself that I would never sire a childe if it meant that they might, at one point, go through the pain of loosing me, just like I lost Angel, or if I died, and left them alone in the world. Besides, I think Angel would have staked me if I sired someone, he had his hands full enough with dealing with Dru's childe without me adding another one." Victoria smiled at the last comment, but it took Buffy a moment to realise she was talking about Spike. Once she realised, she let out a laugh.

"They care about you, they're both worried, I can tell." Buffy said. Victoria looked up at her from the pillows.

"Angel and Spike? Yeah, they do. Not as much as they cared about Dru, but yeah, they've always cared. Even when Spike was human, he cared about me."

"You two knew each other?" Buffy was surprised.

"Spike was friends with my two elder brothers, and so sometimes came to stay with us. He's stake me if he knew I said his, but he was the sweetest guy. Very much the gentleman. He was always really passionate about everything. From what I've seen of him now, things haven't changed." Victoria broke off to yawn, before blinking sleepily.

"I'll let you sleep, I have to go and patrol anyway."

"Ah, don't let me keep you from your Slaying duties." Victoria smiled. Buffy got up and left the room, and Victoria watched her go. She leant back against the pillows and snuggled down into the blankets, yawning again. She blinked.

"I just had a nice conversation with a Slayer. What the heck have I gotten myself into?"

BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS

Buffy walked down the stairs, and wasn't surprised to see Angel in the living room. He was sitting on the same couch they'd been on when he'd told her Victoria's story.

"You okay" Buffy asked from the doorway. Angel looked up at her and nodded

"Yeah, I'm still getting over the fact that she's still in existence and hasn't been dusted yet, and that she's a demon hunter. She was always so gentle, and she was by far the least bloodthirsty vampire I ever met. Did you two have a nice talk?"

"Yes, we did. We talked about my slaying, and her demon hunting. Then we talked about you, and Spike, and Vampire bonds, and now I think she's fallen asleep."

"Good, that'll give us plenty of time before she wakes up again to go patrol. Are you ready?" Angel got up, and Buffy nodded, "just let me get my things, and tell Giles that I'm going, and then I'll be ready. "

"Alright," Angel smiled.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Spike and Willow walked up the driveway of the motel, glancing around. There were a number of vehicles parked in the car parks, each one in front of a door. They walked around, looking for the number on the door that matched the one on the key. Willow pointed it out.

"Spike, there it is."

"Right," Spike said, turning to face the way Willow was pointing. He smirked.

"You have grown up, Queenie. A bike, very nice." He muttered, more to himself than to Willow. Willow shot him a confused look.

"The motorbike, outside her room. It's Victoria's. I'm surprised, but considering how much she's changed, I probably shouldn't have been."

"How can you tell it's hers?" Willow asked, looking for an indentifying factor that she could spot. Spike shook his head, and gently took her arm, leading her up the room's door.

"Firstly, it's outside of the room we'd identified as hers, second, it smells of her, and thirdly, for as long as I've known her, purple has always been her favourite colour."

Willow laughed, looking at the bike, and realising that, though she hadn't noticed it earlier in the dim light, that it was indeed a dark purple in colour. Spike put the key into the lock, and turned it, until the lock clicked. Smiling at Willow, he pushed the door open. They walked into the room, side by side, and Willow flicked on the light switch. The darkened room lit up. It looked like an ordinary motel room. A table, some drawers, and double bed, and a bathroom. Spike smirked when he noticed that the window was covered up with a blanket.

"Well, we know she was staying here." He told Willow. Willow scoffed, and pulled open the bar fridge. There was Victoria's stash of vials of blood, neatly stacked.

"Yep, I'd say so." Willow added. Spike smirked, and crossed the room to the large bag that had been placed on a chair, and looked inside.

"Looking for anything in particular, Spike?" Willow asked from where she stood, gathering objects off the bedside table. Spike shook his head, picking up the heavy bag and putting it down on the bed. Willow put the objects carefully in the bag, before going into the bathroom, and looking to see if any of Victoria's things were in there. Coming out carrying only a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, she added them to the bag. Spike had found a few more things, and added them to the bag, before fetching the vials of blood from the fridge. Then they both checked the room over, making sure all of Victoria's belongings were collected, before Spike picked up the bag and walked out of the room. Willow went to the administration office of the motel, and handed in Victoria's room key, and payed the rest of the money on Victoria's account. Then she went back outside to Spike, who had securely tied the bag to the bike, and was now sitting astride it. As Willow drew near, he held out Victoria's helmet to her.

"Here you go, Red."

"Thanks, Spike. Aren't you going to wear one?"

"No, love. There only was one, and you're easier to hurt than me. Besides, Buffy would kill me if I let you ride this without a helmet."

Willow smiled, shrugging her shoulders, before taking the bike off Spike and putting it over her head. Then she got on behind Spike.

"Do you know how to drive this?" she asked, voice muffled by the helmet. Spike snorted.

"Of course Pet, just hang on to me and you'll be fine."

Willow wrapped her arms tightly around Spikes waist as Spike started the motor of the bike. He slowly backed it out of the car park, before easing it along the driveway, and turning out of the driveway onto the street. Once they were on the main street, though, Spike smirked, and revved the motor, accelerating down the street. Willow squealed excitedly, before dissolving into a fit of giggles at his antics. Spike grinned, and began speeding towards the mansion, though he did 'accidently' make a couple of wrong turns. The feeling of Willow's body against his making him wish that the journey was a lot longer than it was.

BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS

Spike sighed as they entered the mansion, immediately sensing that Buffy and Angel had left to go patrolling. Giles was in the library, and he could sense Victoria upstairs. Smiling sideways at Willow, he gripped her hand gently.

"Come on, love, lets go talk to the watcher." He said, and Willow nodded. Although they would be having a Scooby meeting at the mansion the next evening, there was often something that the Watcher needed researching with in between meetings.

Giles looked up as they entered the library, smiling to see the pair.

"Ah, you two are back from getting Victoria's belongings I see."

"Yes, we got everything that we could find." Willow said.

"No wonder the bit was so skinny, though. All the blood she had was in little vials." Spike added, carefully putting the bag down and hooking one of the vials out for Giles to examine.

"Yes, that does explain a bit. I've read up on the curse Victoria was under, well, as much as I could anyway. There aren't many books in my possession that go into detail about that particular curse. From what I was able to read, the curse attacked each of the vampire's bodily systems, returning them to their human status, working from the least important, bodily systems, probably her skeletal system first, before working its way through the vampire's body until it reaches the circulatory system, which is where it usually becomes fatal."

"So, with the exception of her heart not beating, she was basically alive?" Willow asked. Giles nodded.

"Yes, Willow, that's correct."

"Would she have, you know, still been allergic to sunlight, and all those other things Vampire's don't like?" Spike asked, picking up the book Giles had opened up and offered to him. Giles shook his head.

"Yes, she would have sustained all of her vampiric weaknesses throughout the curse."

"What does this have to do with her not drinking blood, or only drinking it in little bits?" Willow asked.

"Victoria's digestive system would have been one of the earlier systems of her body to change over. The effect blood would have taken on her would have become like the one you or I would experience if we drank blood." Giles explained, and Willow pulled a face.

"Ew, Grosse." She shuddered. Spike shuddered too, though for a different reason. Giles and Willow looked at him curiously

"Imagine having fed off practically the same thing for over one hundred years, and then, one day, discovering that you were suddenly throwing it all back up straight away. She would've been really confused. At least she could still eat human food."

"Still, she would still have been a vampire, so that would have done very little for her nutritionally." Giles pointed out, and the all fell silent. Giles eventually handed Spike and Willow some old books detailing famous vampires, and instructed them to look up Victoria, while he consulted the Watcher's Diaries. Willow sank into the couch, sitting Indian style, and Spike flopped beside her, pulling his book open and leaning back against the cushions of the couch. Willow glanced sideways at him, and, having caught his eye, smiled. Spike smiled back, and the pair of them continued to research in silence.

An hour or so later, Giles looked up, and let his jaw drop. Spike and Willow were both asleep, Willow's head resting on Spike's shoulder, a sliver of saliva hanging from her mouth. Spike's head was resting on top of Willows, a content smile upon his face. Giles let a slight smirk cross his face, and silently got up, tip toeing across to his desk. He noiselessly slid a drawer open and pulled out the digital camera the Scoobies had given him for Christmas the previous year. He turned it on, wincing as it made a noise. He glanced quickly at Spike, who thankfully hadn't stirred. Giles raised the machine to his eye and took a couple of pictures, checking them quickly afterwards, before smirking again.

Next time Spike started to annoy him, he was going to be prepared.

**A.N. Here's the next chapter. There should be another one up by the weekend. Please Review, as it makes me happy and keeps me typing. Next Chapter: More Angel and Victoria action (of the non romantic kind) **


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Victoria smiled sleepily as she returned to consciousness. She curled her fingers slightly, yawning sleepily. The fact that she didn't need to breathe made the action completely redundant, but she didn't care.

Cracking one of her eyes open, Victoria sighed. It was mid to late morning, and Victoria was a little hungry. She sat up a little more, using her arms to prop herself up. There was no-one else in the room, so she stretched her arms out.

'They've abandoned you again,' a dark voice, which sounded eerily like Darla's, sounded in her mind, and Victoria felt a flash of fear, but quickly brushed it aside. Angel wasn't going to abandon her again. Or was he?

Suddenly worried that Angel was going to leave her behind again, disappointed by her slow recovery and enduring weakness, Victoria began to try and scramble out of bed, so she could go find Angel and prove to him that she was recovering. She sat for a moment on the bed, having gotten herself out from under the covers, and now facing the prospect of actually putting her own two feet on the ground, and putting her body weight on them. Victoria sniffed, and realised there were tears running down her cheeks.

"No, please don't cry" she whispered to herself, inching to the side of the bed. She gently lowered her legs over the edge of the bed, and took a few deep, steadying, completely unnecessary breaths. She felt stiff from having lain still for so long, and her feet had cramped up slightly. Gritting her teeth, Victoria slid herself off the bed and onto her own to feet. She swayed a little as she slowly straightened her legs, and her back, until she was standing upright. Victoria smiled, and, still keeping one hand on the bed for balance, took a shaky step. Immediately, Victoria felt her strength vanish, and her legs buckled beneath her. She yelped in surprise as she fell, and yelped again in pain when she hit the hard floor. She began to cry again, not because of the pain. That had been only momentary, and Victoria was used to pain, but because of her frustration at being so helpless. Victoria froze when she heard running feet outside of her room, and saw the door bang open. Angel stood there, his brown eyes fearful. They widened when he saw her on the floor.

"Are you okay?" he asked, walking across the room and crouching beside her. Victoria couldn't hold back the sob that erupted from her mouth when she saw him, overcome with relief that he had not, in fact, abandoned her. When he was beside her, she embraced him, burying her face into his shirt and sobbing. Angel gathered her up in his arms and put her back up on her bed.

"Victoria? Baby? What's going on?" he asked. Victoria sniffed.

"I thought you'd abandoned me again, and I was going to go and find you and show you that I'm not helpless. I guess I was wrong," she sobbed. Angel ran his hands through Victoria's hair soothingly.

"I'm sorry I wasn't up here, Baby. I was downstairs with Giles."

"It's okay, Angel. It's not your fault; you can't stay up here all the time with me. I'm not a baby. I'm just being silly. I'll be fine."

"No, Victoria. You're not being silly. And you are not helpless. You are one of the most notorious Demon Hunters in the Northern States, and in Europe. Demons live in fear of your name. You're recovering from a really bad curse, you are allowed to be a little weaker then you usually are."

"You're just saying that, Angel."

"No, I mean it. You're already stronger than what you were when we first met up with you."

"I guess so" Victoria shrugged, avoiding meeting Angel's brown eyes with her own blue grey ones. Angel sighed and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"Victoria, look at me." He growled when she didn't, and dropped his voice back into the one he had used when he was Angelus.

"Look at me," he repeated. Victoria immediately looked up and met his eyes with hers. They were filled with tears, and Angel wiped the moisture away, softening his face and his voice.

"I'm sorry I left, alright. I know now that I shouldn't have done it, that it hurt you, Spike and Dru, especially you and Spike. I feel guilty about it every single day, along with all of the rest of the things that I did. Mixed in with all the dreams of me torturing and killing back when I was Angelus, are dreams of you three and Darla when I left you. Not so much Darla, because I always knew she could cope by herself, but I knew that you, Spike, and Dru would struggle with being by yourselves. I hoped at first that you and Spike would stay together and look after Dru, but that didn't happen. Victoria, I'm sorry about what happened, and I will promise you now that I will never abandon you again."

"Angel, don't make promises you can't keep" Victoria slowly said, meaning every word, "I mean, something could happen, and you might need to leave. Besides, you need to, well, live your own life. Spike and I have managed the last 102 years without you being involved; we can look after ourselves without you holding our hands."

Angel found himself suddenly smiling, "When did you grow up and get so clever?" he asked, his voice joking. Victoria smiled back at him.

"I've always been this clever; I just never let you see it."

Angel laughed, and ruffled Victoria's dark hair, causing the younger vampire to scowl at him and try to move away.

"An-gel, stop it" she whined, dragging out his name. Angel took his hand away from her hair, chuckling.

"Do you want something to eat?' he asked. Victoria nodded, and Angel slit his wrist with one of his fangs, before offering it to Victoria. Victoria gently began to suck on the wound. She was surprised when, a few minutes later, Angel eased his wrist from her mouth.

"I'll go and get you some more blood. I think you don't need to be feeding off me as much now." Angel explained. Victoria cheerfully nodded. As nice as it was to feed of Angel, she was looking forward to regaining that little part of her independence.

"Ok, that's fine."

"I'll be right back, ok?"

Victoria nodded, and Angel hurried out of the room, leaving her alone once more. She wasn't bothered by it this time though, having been reassured by Angel's words of comfort. It wasn't long before she could hear the sound of footsteps approaching the room once again. Victoria smiled as Angel re-entered the room, carrying a mug of steaming liquid. She caught the scent of blood in the air, and felt her inner demon groan in anticipation. Victoria let her eyes flash gold, before reinforcing the cage her Demon dwelled within.

"You have no idea how good that smells from over here" Victoria said, and Angel laughed.

"The look on your face gives me a good idea, Victoria." He laughed. Victoria glared at him as he gave her the mug. Victoria wrapped her pale hands around the mug, feeling it's warmth. She inhaled deeply, savouring the sweet odour of the blood, before slowly taking a sip from the mug. Her eyes widened as the blood slid onto her tongue. She swallowed, before levelling a look at Angel.

"It's human. I thought you and Spike weren't hunting?" she asked, her tone accusing

"We decided that the best way for you to recover would be human blood, so I got a couple of bags from the local demon bar last night." Angel explained. Victoria nodded.

"Oh, okay then." She took another mouthful of blood, smiling at its warmth, and the taste, that seemed intoxicating after so long. Angel watched as she drank, his eyes roving over her body, noticing that she did indeed look better than she had initially.

"Tonight, some friends of Buffy's will be coming over for a meeting. They all help her out with the slaying. Willow and Giles will be there, and so will Spike and I. Do you want to come as well?"

Victoria looked up at her Sire, "Would that be okay with Buffy, I mean, I'm basically a stranger to her, and I am a Vampire, even though that doesn't seem to bother her with you and Spike being there."

Angel smiled, "I'm pretty sure Buffy doesn't mind, since she was the one who asked if I thought you would be ready to come."

"Oh, well, in that case, I'd be honoured to come."

"It's not that big a deal. You'll probably get given a heavy book to read, especially once Giles figures out that you speak and read Latin."

"Why is Latin such a big deal?"

"Because most of the books are written in Latin, and only Giles, Spike and I are fluent in it, though Willow is getting pretty good at it. Oh, that reminds me, Willow and Spike went to get your things from the motel last night. They're in a bag over there." Angel pointed to a corner, and Victoria smiled brightly when she saw her old bag sitting on a chair. She took another sip of blood, and sighed.

"If I'm going to be helping you guys at a meeting tonight, then I am so having a shower or something today. I feel gross."

Angel laughed, "Yeah, I guess you can do that," he said.

**A.N. Here's the latest update. I hope to update this story every week, and I have also been working on a prequel that will tell the story of the years following Victoria's turning, up until Angelus got his soul. Many thanks go to those who have been reviewing this story, namely, ****wolfmoonxx02**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Victoria let out a sigh and sank into the warm bath until only her head was above the water line.

"God, this is nice," she murmured to herself. She could feel the steam from the hot water easing the aching of her muscles. She closed her eyes and leant her head back against the edge of the bath, lazily rubbing body wash into her arms. Victoria began to hum a song that she had liked, and found herself wondering what her gang were doing. She knew that they would be wondering where she was, how she was doing. Hell, as far as they knew, she could have been dust. Victoria knew that if it hadn't have been for Angel's intervention, she would have been dust, probably that same night that she and Angel had been reunited. Once again, she owed her life (or unlife) to the dark haired vampire. She had long ago lost count of the number of times he had saved her.

Having already washed her hair, Victoria lay in the bath, lost completely in her thoughts, her eyes closed as she soaked in the now lukewarm water. She didn't her the soft knocking upon the door, nor the soft creak of the door handle turning. She did however hear the door opening. Victoria whipped her head around, ducking under the water until only her mouth upwards was visible when she realised it was Angel who had opened it.

"Angel, haven't you heard of knocking," she snapped.

"I did, you probably just didn't hear it. Are you almost done in here?" Angel kept his eyes averted, and Victoria noticed how he was standing, angled away from where she was sitting in the bath.

"I'm done, Angel. Can you pass me a towel?" Victoria softened her tone, letting her sire know that she had forgiven him. Angel nodded and picked up a towel, unfolding it and holding it out to Victoria. Victoria took it from him, shielding herself with it as Angel took hold of her arm, gripping tightly as he pulled her upright. Victoria wrapped the towel around her, and accepted Angel's hand as she stepped put of the bath.

"Do you need help getting dressed?" Angel asked, and Victoria shook her head.

"No, I will manage, thanks' Angel." Victoria smiled at him, and Angel nodded, still avoiding looking at her, though the towel was draped around her. Victoria watched as Angel left the room, closing the door behind him, before she quickly dried herself off and picked up the stack of clean clothes she had gotten from her bag before her bath, and beginning to dress herself, leaning against the wall for support. Once Victoria was dressed, she hobbled across to the door, pushing it open. As she had suspected, Angel was waiting in the bedroom, standing near the door to the bathroom. He stepped over to her and offered her his arm to steady herself with. Victoria stumbled a couple of steps, before accepting his hand.

"How are you feeling?" Angel asked when Victoria sat back down on the bed. The younger vampire nodded.

"A bit better. I still feel kind of weak and hungry, but better than I did earlier." Victoria told him. Angel nodded, picking up a mug of warm blood from the bedside table and passing it to his childe.

"Drink this; it will help you feel even better." He instructed. Victoria nodded, taking the mug and quickly drinking the thick, rich blood from it. She passed the empty mug back to Angel when she was done.

"Thanks" she smiled up at him, before glancing away. Angel sighed, sitting beside her and tentatively wrapping arm around her slender shoulders. Almost unconsciously, Victoria nestled into Angel's chest as he slowly, gently, rubbed her back. Shifting so that he was sitting with his back to the head board of the bed, Angel continued rubbing Victoria's back as she lay down on the bed beside him, her still damp hair clinging to her pale skin. Angel smiled as Victoria fell asleep, her head resting upon his leg. He was shocked at how well she as coping with being near him again, considering that he had practically abandoned her when he had regained his soul. It had taken Spike a while for him to accept working with Angel, and it was only after he had initiated many fights, both physical and verbal that Spike had finally begun to get over it. He still wasn't completely over it. Angel was able to tell that Victoria wasn't overly impressed about their reunion, but at least she hadn't resorted to violence, yet.

They stayed that way for awhile, Angel softly smiling at how Victoria hadn't kicked her habit of breathing gently when she slept, even though the action did nothing for her. Spike did the same thing, which some parts of Angel found amusing. Victoria woke up at about four in the afternoon, and grinned sheepishly up at Angel.

"How long was I out for?" she asked. Angel shrugged

"A little over an hour." He replied. Victoria cringed.

"Sorry about that, you probably had stuff planned, and they didn't involve me falling asleep on you."

"Don't worry, It was nothing of importance. I had actually planned to do some stuff with you, you know, talk about what you've been up to over the last 102 years. We could still do that, if you want."

"You don't strike me as a talkative type, Angel." Victoria replied. Angel shrugged.

"I was sort of more meaning you talk, and I listen. I'm good at listening."

"Yeah, living with Spike, you'd have to be. I have no idea how Dru managed him for all that time."

Angel chuckled, "Yeah, sometimes I wonder that as well. She always was a bit strange, our Dru."

Victoria shot him a pointed look, "Always was a bit strange before or after you made her insane, Angel?"

Angel flinched at her tone.

"Well, from what I saw, she always was a bit strange, but after, you know, I did what I did, she was definitely worse."

Victoria softened her face when she saw the guilt on Angel's face. She hadn't meant to cause him to fall into a brooding fit.

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No, you were right to mention it. You and Dru were close, you had the right to resent me for what I did to her." Angel bowed his head as he felt guilt continue to wash over him

"Angel, stop with the self loathing bull shit, all right. I know where you stand, so does Spike. We both went through the whole soul thing, a lot more recently than you did I might add, and you don't see us constantly brooding about it, and don't say anything about us not having done as many bad things as you have. We've both done bad stuff over the years." Victoria hardened her voice once more, and Angel raised his eyes to meet hers. He had rarely heard her swear before

"I'm not that same, helpless little girl you sired 121 years ago, Angel. I'm not even the same vampire you left 102 years ago. I still look the same, but stuff happens. The world is a harsh place."

"I know, but you've changed so much."

"So has Spike, its just that he's better at hiding it than I am. Besides, he had Dru to fuss over. I had to rebuild from nothing. So did you, I guess. I'm sorry if I seemed harsh, the others tell me I can be very blunt sometimes, and that I can be a downright bitch at other times."

"The others?" Angel asked. Victoria paused.

"My gang. God I miss them. They're like my family."

"You can call them, if you want." Angel offered. Victoria smiled, and looked up at him. Suddenly, Angel could see the same young vampire that had been so dependent on him sitting beside him again. He smiled at her, and placed his hand on her scrawny shoulder.

"Thank-you Angel, for everything" Victoria murmured, and Angel nodded.

"It's no problem, really." Angel smiled back at her.

Victoria was silent, her mind obviously miles away, with the gang of friends that she had left to seek out a way of preserving her unlife. Angel rubbed his hand slowly up and down Victoria's back, soothing her. Victoria let out an unneeded breath.

"What time are Buffy and her gang coming?"

"Six o'clock, but they usually come a little earlier, and Xander and Cordy usually arrive a couple of minutes late."

"Alright then" Victoria nodded, and they fell into a silence. Angel bit his lip. He hated things being this awkward between them.

"I didn't cope well with the soul at first, it was really only I first saw Buffy that I regained a focus in my life. Everything before that was simply just reflexive, doing whatever possible to stay alive, but nothing else. For years, I was living in deserted Alleyways and Sewers living off rats and stray animals, growing more and more animalistic. Then, I was approached by a demon named Whistler, and he showed me Buffy, back when she'd only just become a slayer. I realised that I could be doing so much more, so Whistler trained me up again, and I came to Sunnydale a couple of months before Buffy arrived." Angel told her, speaking quietly, slowly. Victoria was looking closely at him as he spoke, eyes downcast at how badly he handled the soul. Suddenly, Angel realised that now she was the one rubbing his back comfortingly.

"It's okay Angel. If I hadn't had, er, a friend, with me when I did it, I would have killed myself or gone insane from the memories of what I've done. Hell, it took us over a year just to leave the African continent, let alone get back to a normal unlife, that took us three years." Victoria blinked, silently hoping that Angel wouldn't ask her who she had spent those three years with. She let out a silent prayer of thanks when he didn't say anything. They continued to sit in silence for a few minutes, before Angel stirred, looking at his watch.

"Come on, we may as well head down to the library now. Spike and I usually have a feed before the meeting, so we don't have to feed during it. Some of the others don't really like it when we drink in front of them." Angel said, getting up and offering Victoria his hand.

"Okay" Victoria said, accepting Angel's hand and letting him pull her to her feet. Then he wrapped an arm around her back to steady her, before he slowly started to walk out of the room.

**A.N. Here's this weeks update. I hope you enjoy. Reviews are much appreciated.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Angel led Victoria into the kitchen, and let her sit at the table, while he went and got their dinner ready. As he was pulling the mugs of warmed blood out of the microwave, Spike strolled in.

"Ah, dinner time is it?" he grinned, moving into the kitchen and getting his own mug of blood ready. Angel sat at the table beside Victoria and put down a mug in front of her. When his mug was ready, Spike joined them at the table, and they sat drinking in silence.

"Do you know what we're looking into tonight, Peaches?" Spike asked, not liking the silence. Angel shrugged.

"I don't know, I haven't talked to Rupert today, so I'm not sure."

"I hope we aren't up for a late session, I want to take Red out for a walk, you know, do some patrolling, and get some alone time. Killing two birds with one stone, really."

"It shouldn't be too long, unless somebody has seen something in the last 24 hours. Buffy didn't spot anything last night when we went patrolling." Angel replied, drinking deeply from his mug. Victoria followed his lead, licking her lips at the taste of the warmed human blood Angel had given her.

"Why does she get human blood?" Spike whined.

"Because she's still recovering, Spike." Angel ground out, and Spike smirked, knowing that he had irritated Angel, achieving one of the goals of his unlife. Winking at Victoria, who had a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles; Spike rolled his eyes, pouting.

"But Angel, I've been so good lately. I haven't even threatened to hurt the Slayer, or any of the others, and I go out and hunt demons, and my reputation is in tatters, I am the laughing stock of the demon world, present company excluded."

"I thought that you would want to go to Willow to discuss your rewards for being so good, Spike." Angel smirked, and Spike grinned, a devilish looking in his eye.

"Why, Angel, you rogue, I didn't know you had it in you. What an excellent idea."

"Thank-you Spike, I thought you would like that idea more than a mug of human blood."

"Why have it from a mug when you've got a willing girl you can feed off whenever you like." Spike reasoned.

"Spike!" Angel growled, and Spike laughed.

I'm joking, Angel. I don't feed off Red, much. Just a little bit. To keep the stamina going."

"Spike, this would be when Buffy would say 'Ew, too much information'" Angel grinned, and Spike shrugged.

"Whatever. Well, I'll see you in the library." Spike drained his mug and put it in the sink, before wandering out of the room. Victoria smiled as she drained her mug, and passed it to Angel, who got up and put both his and hers in the sink, rinsing them out before walking back to the table.

"Come on, the others will be arriving soon." He told her. Victoria got up, and Angel took her hand, leading her from the kitchen, across the hall, to the library. He smirked as he could practically hear Victoria's jaw drop as she took in the row upon row of shelves, lined with books. The plush carpet muffled their footsteps as they crossed the room, to the low tables were positioned, surrounded by comfortable chairs and couches. Victoria dropped down onto one of the couches, and Angel walked over to Giles, who was standing at a shelf, and hadn't noticed the two vampires come in.

"Hey Rupert" Angel softly said, causing the Watcher to jump.

"Oh, hello Angel, is it that time of night already?" Giles looked at his watch, "yes it is, must have lost track of time."

"What are we looking into tonight, Rupert?" Angel asked as they emerged from the shelves and walked towards the couches. Giles took off his glasses, and begun to clean them.

"Well, just looking into possible upcoming prophesies, unless anybody comes in with any strange reports."

"Well, there's none coming from me," Spike said as he entered the library, his leather duster billowing behind him.

"Hello, Spike, well, there's three of us with nothing to report." Giles had looked up to greet Spike, and in doing so, noticed Victoria, who was sitting quietly.

"Oh, sorry, Victoria, four of us, I beg your pardon. I don't know if we've been introduced formally. I am Rupert Giles, a former Watcher, and a librarian."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Giles. I guess Angel or Spike told you my name."

"Yes, well, they did, when you arrived at the mansion. How are you feeling?"

"Much better, thank-you. Apparently Buffy asked if I could come to this meeting, so here I am."

"Ah, yes. An extra pair of eyes is always welcome." Rupert nodded, and put his glasses back on. At that moment, Buffy, and her mother walked into the room.

"Hey Angel, Giles, Spike, Victoria. How you all doing?" Buffy asked. Angel left Giles' side to meet his girlfriend, and Spike flopped down on the couch beside Victoria.

"We're all fine thank-you Buffy. How are you today, Joyce."

"Fine, thank-you, Rupert."

"Oh, er, Joyce, um, this is Victoria, a, um, well, a childe of mine. Victoria, this is Joyce Summers, Buffy's mum." Angel introduced

"Oh, hello, Victoria, it's nice to meet you."

""It's good to meet you too, Mrs. Summers."

"Oh, please, call me Joyce. Everyone else does." Joyce smiled, leaving Buffy's side and walking over to Rupert.

"I didn't think Vampires could have children?" she asked him in a hushed tone. Giles smiled at her.

"Well, he didn't mean childe in the literal sense, there's a silent e on the end. It means that he turned her into a vampire."

"Oh, right, I remember that now, thank-you Rupert." Joyce nodded, before reaching up and pecking him on the cheek. She was still getting used to all the vampire terminology. Although she'd known that Buffy had been a slayer for years, but had only started coming to research meetings in the last year.

"Rupert and Joyce have been going out for the last six months" Spike whispered to Victoria in a voice too quiet for anyone else to hear.

"Oh, and Angel is with Buffy, who is the Slayer, and you are with the red haired witch, whose name I can't remember."

"Willow, her name is Willow" Spike reminded her softly. Victoria nodded.

"That's right, Willow. I remember that now."

"Speak of the devil" Spike grinned, just as they heard the front door close, and saw Willow enter the library.

"Sorry I'm late, I got caught up in the program I was designing, and time got away from me. Did anyone else notice how cold it is out there?"

"Hi Wills" Buffy greeted her friend.

"Hello Willow. You're right, it was a little cool I noticed" Joyce smiled at the girl she considered her second daughter. Giles nodded in agreement, as Willow sat down beside Spike.

"Hey, Victoria, it's great to see you up and about. How're you feeling? Last time I saw you, you were pretty out of it."

"I'm feeling much better now, thank you Willow. I should also thank you for doing that spell, back there. It saved my butt."

Willow laughed. "Don't worry about it."

Victoria looked around when she heard the front door open, and two more people come in.

"Well, they're early" Spike sniggered.

"Who?" asked Victoria.

"The last two members of our little group." Willow replied as Xander and Cordelia walked in.

"Hey gang, what's new in the world of demons and slaying." Xander cheerfully asked as they joined the rest of the group.

"Hello Xander and Cordelia. Nothing new to report, so we're just looking through prophesies tonight." Giles told them, and Victoria noticed that the new arrivals shoulders seemed to slump when they heard that nothing exciting was like to happen tonight.

Cordelia glanced around the group, noticing that Buffy also looked annoyed that there was nothing new in town for her to slay. Then she noticed the stranger sitting with Spike and Willow. She was new.

"Hi, we haven't been introduced I'm Cordelia, and this is Xander." Cordelia held out her hand, and Victoria shook it politely.

"I'm Victoria; it's nice to meet you, Cordelia."

"What brings you into our little gang of demon slayers and researchers?"

Victoria fought back the urge to pretend she didn't know anything about demons and vampires, and instead offered the truth.

"I'm a demon hunter up north, but I needed to come down here for, well, medicinal reasons. I'm also a souled vampire."

"Uh huh" Cordelia replied, before facing Angel, "For all you said about being the only one, there sure are a lot of souled vampires running around these days."

"I didn't know Victoria had a soul. Trust me, if I did know, I would have joined up with her."

"So you two know each other?" Xander asked.

"Yeah, Angel was the one who turned me, a long time ago." Victoria grinned.

"Oh right, and you are souled, right?" Xander was nervous, from what he knew of Angelus' Childre, they weren't so big on the being sane.

"Yep, have been for the last eighteen years." Victoria reassured him

"Right, shall we get a move on, then? Buffy, Xander, and Cordelia, can you look through these books for me," Giles indicated a large stack of books, and Buffy groaned, and detangled herself from Angel's arms, moving to the central table and picking up the top book, both dropping herself into another couch. Xander and Cordelia followed suit.

"Angel, you and Spike can look through these ones" Giles indicated another pile

"What's the difference between my books and Thiers? Buffy asked.

"Well, er, the language they're written in, actually. You have all the English prophecy books, while Angel and Spike have the Latin ones. Willow, can you go on the computer and have a look on the websites with modern day prophecies." Giles replied

"Yep, easy job" Willow said cheerfully, getting up and going to the computer set up Giles had.

"Joyce, you can help Buffy, if you want. Victoria, how good are you at other languages?" Giles continued

"Well, I'm okay at them, a little rusty around the edges, but yeah, I know a couple." Victoria smiled. She actually knew a few more than a couple, but she was very out of practice, and her head felt too fuzzy to be able to focus.

"That's alright, how about you help Buffy, Xander, Cordelia, and Joyce, and I'll help Spike and Angel." Giles suggested.

"What exactly are we looking for?" Buffy asked as Victoria grabbed a book off the right stack and flicked it open.

"Anything that could relate to modern day Sunnydale." Giles replied, "We don't want any unexpected surprises."

"Alright then" Buffy shrugged, and started to read. The group went silent, the room quiet, except for the sound of turning pages, and the sound of Willow tapping on the keys of the computer, and clicking on the mouse.

They stayed that way for awhile. Victoria settled herself into research mode, remembering the night, not unlike this one, those few, fateful months ago, when she, and her friends had discovered the true nature of the curse that had been placed upon her. Her memories from that night came flooding back, the shocked looks on the other's faces as she read what had been written in one of the books about demon curses they had found, the sinking feeling in her gut as she realised she was going to turn to dust, that she would die, again, and that she wouldn't come back this time.

Victoria shook her head and refocused on the task at hand. The curse had been removed; it couldn't hurt her, not anymore. There was no immediate threat to her unlife (as far as she knew anyway).

Spike, who was sitting beside her on the long couch, seemed to sense Victoria's unease, as he gently nudged her. Victoria looked up at him.

"You okay?" he asked, whispering so quietly that, even with her enhanced hearing, Victoria had trouble hearing.

"I'm fine, just got distracted for a little bit." She replied, matching the volume of her voice to his. Spike smiled reassuringly at her, before returning his attention to the book that was in front of him. Victoria watched Spike as he began to read again, before following his example, and beginning to read the book she was holding again.

An hour or so later, the group was obviously at the end of their endurance as far as intensive research went. Xander, Cordelia and Buffy were all struggling to stay awake, fidgeting, and groaning. Spike, Joyce and Willow were also struggling, with a combination of boredom and weariness dragging them down. Victoria, already weary at the beginning of the session, was about to fall asleep, while Angel and Giles exchanged a look, agreeing without words that they would get nothing more done tonight. Giles broke the restless silence by putting his book down, clearing his throat and getting to his feet. Everyone else looked up hopefully.

"Well, I think we're done for tonight. We worked quiet well tonight. Buffy, are you still right to go patrolling with Angel?"

"Yep" Buffy instantly perked up at the mention of her favourite word, Patrolling, especially when it was used with Angel's name in the same sentence. She put her book down and got to her feet. Angel grinned, and put the book he was holding down as well, before getting up and following his slayer out of the room. They heard the pair getting some weapons from the closet in the main foyer, before they left the mansion. Giles began to pack up their books, and Joyce helped him, while Willow shut down the computer. Her task finished, Willow sat down next to Victoria, as Spike had gone to get him and Victoria a drink.

"So, what did you think of the meeting. They aren't usually this boring, though, because most of the time we have to research a specific demon, or something."

"No, it wasn't too bad. Next time I back home to my group, I'll send you a copy of out database, if you like."

"That would be great." Willow cheerfully smiled, and glanced across at Giles, who had obviously heard what Victoria said.

"Yes, that would be very helpful. Is your database extensive?"

"Reasonably. I mean, some of the demons and stuff that are in there were one offs, so we don't need to worry about them anymore, but the rest are all ones that I guess you could encounter here as well, especially with the hellmouth and all."

"When do you expect to return to your, er, home?" Giles asked, and Victoria noticed that Spike, who had just walked in, seemed more interested in her response than anyone else.

"I don't know, to be honest. It's been reasonably quiet up there for the last few months, and the others have been able to handle it while I've been sidelined by the curse, so I don't think they'll need me for another couple of months, but it gets busy during the autumn, so I really need to be back by then. On the other hand, I don't think Angel's going to let me go for another month."

"Right, well, whenever you end up going, a copy of that database would be very helpful."

"No problems," Victoria smiled, casting a sideways glance at Spike, who was smiling at her approvingly.

"Nice answer, Queenie." He said, giving Victoria a mug and Victoria nodded in thanks.

"I thought so." She replied. Victoria drank slowly, savouring the taste of the human blood, knowing that it wouldn't last. She knew that after another day or two, she would be almost back to her full strength.

Spike drained his mug quickly, before putting it back in the kitchen, before offering Willow his hand.

"Come one, luv, lets go for a walk."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow, Victoria. Bye Joyce, Xander, Cordy, Giles."

"See ya later" Spike cheerfully waved as they left the house, after fetching their jackets, and some weapons. Xander and Cordy left not long afterwards. Victoria, who had finished her drink, got to her feet.

"I might go to bed, it's been a kind of long day, and I'm a bit tired. Goodnight, Giles. It was lovely to meet you, Joyce."

"Alright, Victoria. See you tomorrow." Giles replied, taking Joyce's hand in his.

"Goodnight, Victoria." Joyce smiled. Victoria left as quickly as she could, putting her mug in the sink and rinsing it out, before returning to the foyer and facing the stairs up to the second level.

"This will be interesting," she muttered, gripping the banister tightly. She slowly climbed up the stairs, smiling to herself as she reached the top without falling.

"Far out, I'm happy because I went up one flight of stairs by myself. I hate demon curses, almost as much as I hate Gypsy ones." She growled, walking the rest of the way to her room. Once she reached it, Victoria changed into a loose fitting t-shirt and a pair a old track pants., before brushing het teeth, and running her brash through her hair, before she flopped down on the bed, crawling under the covers and laying her head on the pillow.

She was asleep within a minute.

**A.N. Here is the next update. It's a little early, as I am noting going to have access to a computer for the next week, as I'm going on holiday. Because of this, the next chapter will probably be a little late, but will definitely be up before Christmas. Just a couple of notes to my reviewers.**

**Home And Charmed****: Here is some Xander and Cordyness for you. I'm sorry that Tara/Anya/Dawn aren't in this, but I haven't watched the later season's of Buffy in Ages, and I don't think I would be able to portray their characters in a way that is true to the series (even though this story is very AU.) Also, I didn't even think about the possibility of Wes, Oz and Lorne being members of Victoria's gang. It's a good thought, but considering what I've got planned for Victoria's gang, well, lets just say that if you like those particular characters, we'll leave them un involved.**

**wolfmoonxx02****: I am glad you are enjoying this story. **

**Okay, reviews are much appreciated. I'm looking forward to coming home and seeing my email inbox overflowing. Have a great week!**

**R.W. **


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Angel and Buffy were quiet as they crept through the front door of the mansion, not sure who was still up. There was a light on in the kitchen, though, indicating that at least someone was still up. Still holding hands, just like they had for the entirety of their patrol (except for when they'd been fighting, and even that was only because they had both come to the conclusion that trying to fight off vampires while holding hands was very ineffective,) Angel and Buffy approached the well lit up doorway.

"Giles?" Buffy called, having picked up the habit of making her presence known before entering a room ever since walking in on her mother and Giles kissing a few months ago.

"We're in here, Buffy" Giles called back from the kitchen. Angel and Buffy entered the kitchen, both hiding their relief when they found Giles and Joyce sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea and munching on some biscuits. Buffy smiled, letting go of Angel's hand and skipped across the room, stealing one of the biscuits.

"Yum, biscuits. Slaying always makes me hungry, you know."

Joyce and Angel grinned, and even Giles struggled to hide the smile that threatened to break out on his face.

Buffy joined her mother and Giles at the table, while Angel warmed up a mug of blood, before sitting down with them.

"How was your patrol?" Giles asked. Buffy shrugged.

"Not too bad, a couple of fledges, and one formerly big bad now souled master vampire going for a moonlit walk with his favourite witch."

Giles nodded, "yes, they left not that long after you."

"Where's Victoria?" Angel asked.

"In bed, she had a drink with Spike before he and Willow left, and then she went to bed. She was very worn out after the research session."

"I know, I might just go check on her, make sure she's okay." Angel kissed Buffy on the forehead, before quickly leaving the room. Buffy smiled as he left; waiting until she was sure he was out of hearing range, even for Angel's heightened hearing, before speaking.

"She's nice, for a vampire." She commented. Giles and Joyce nodded.

"Angel obviously cares a lot about her, so does Spike. I noticed both of them glancing at her every few minutes, making sure she's okay."

"I've been doing some research into Victoria since her arrival in Sunnydale, and it appears to me that Angelus viewed Victoria as the child he would never be able to have. He was fiercely overprotective of her, even more than he was of Drusilla or Darla, or even Spike. It seems that these feelings have carried over into Angel's psyche."

"So, in other words, threaten Victoria, and Angel will kick your ass." Buffy said. Giles took off his glasses and polished them.

"Well, yes, actually, that is about right. In fact, the only known individuals known to have survived harming Victoria in any way, prior to Angelus getting his soul back, was Darla, and Angelus himself."

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Angel crept down the corridor, listening for any signs that would indicate to him that all was not well with his childe. Upon hearing nothing, he carefully opened the door to the room Victoria was staying in, cringing as he hinges squeaked in the process. He smiled to himself as he entered the room, his eyes falling on the pile of clothes sitting on the floor beside the bed. Typical teenager.

Victoria herself was lying under the covers, and Angel could tell she was asleep. She had a contented look upon her face, and she was gently breathing, a habit which Angel knew she'd never get rid of. Hell, he still breathed most nights when he slept (at least, that's what Buffy told him), and he had been dead for a lot longer than Victoria.

Satisfied that his childe was safe, and sound asleep, Angel slowly left the room, closing the door quietly behind him, before creeping back down the corridor to the stairs. He was halfway down the stairs when the mansion's front door opened, and Spike entered.

"Hey Peaches" the blonde vampire greeted cheerfully.

"Spike, I'm guessing you're not staying at Willow's tonight." Angel grinned as he followed the younger vampire into the kitchen, before sitting down beside Buffy again. Spike shrugged.

"She needed to have a good nights sleep, she has a deadline for work tomorrow, and she wants to get up early and double check over everything."

"Nice walk, Spike?" Buffy asked. Spike nodded, sitting down beside Joyce and stealing a biscuit.

"Was quiet, didn't see anyone other than you and Captain Hair gel here."

"I don't like it, Giles, it's been too quiet for too long, something's stirring."

"Geeze, you are hard to please. You whine when it gets busy, and then you whine when it's too quiet. Make up you mind." Spike teased. Buffy poked out her tongue at the vampire. Joyce, Giles and Angel all rolled their eyes at the antics of the two blondes.

"Right, well, it's getting late." Giles cleared his throat, and Joyce looked at her watch.

"Oh, yes. I should go. Buffy, do you want a ride home?"

"Sure thing, mom" Buffy grinned, and the entire group got up, Spike hurried off, leaving the others to their farewells.

"I'll see you tomorrow night.' Buffy whispered into Angel's ear as they embraced. Angel grinned. Tomorrow was Friday, and Buffy always spent Friday nights at the mansion. Willow did too, and Spike and Angel knew that it would only be a matter of time until Joyce spent nights at the mansion as well, although neither mentioned it to Buffy, who would undoubtedly shudder and say something about the fact that her mother and her watcher were dating was disturbing.

Once Buffy and Joyce had left, and Giles and Angel had waved them off from the porch, as they did every research meeting night, the two men re-entered the house. It looked like Spike had gone to Bed, and Angel knew that the watcher would not be far off. Sure enough, Giles yawned.

"Well, I'm going to go to bed; I will see you in the morning, Angel."

"Goodnight Giles." Angel grinned, and watched as Giles moved to his room, which was the only bedroom being used on the ground floor of the three story mansion. Most of the third story was either empty, or used for storage, and the second story was only partially used, with Angel and Spike's bedrooms, with attached bathrooms, A couple of guest bedrooms for when Xander, Cordy, or Joyce stayed the night, and the room Victoria was staying in currently in use. Angel planned on letting Victoria move into a more private room once she was back to her peak condition. There were a couple of rooms that she could have her pick of. Angel stretched, letting his back click, before climbing up the stairs, and moving down the corridor, turning off lights as he went, until he reached Victoria's room. He checked on her once again, but she hadn't moved since his last check in, so Angel closed her door once again, before moving into his own room. He got ready for bed, brushing his teeth, and running his fingers through his hair, before he changed into boxer shorts and a t-shirt, and got into his bed. Switching off his bedside lamp, Angel lay still in the darkness and closed his eyes, falling quickly into a deep slumber.

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Angel was woken in the early hours of the morning by a slight, muffled, snuffling sound, followed by a whimper. He immediately sat up, reaching for a stake from the top draw in his bedside set of drawers, remembering that his childe was in the next room, and wouldn't be able to defend herself against any unwanted guests. He listened, before exhaling needlessly. There were no demons in the mansion, other than the three vampires that were currently living there. Victoria was the one making the noise. Angel slid noiselessly out of bed, glad that his childe was safe, but still fearful of what could be causing her distress.

He could feel her fear flowing through the weak bond between them, already so much stronger than what it had been when Victoria had first arrived in Sunnydale, mainly due to the amount of his blood Angel had given his young childe.

Angel reached Victoria's room, and pushed the door open. Victoria was laying on her bed, whimpering, wrapped tightly in the blankets, face tensed up, and tears rolling down her cheeks. Angel crossed the room quickly, leaving the door open and knelt beside the bed. He hesitated, before Victoria whimpered again.

"No, please. I'm sorry. I'm Sorry." She whispered, and Angel watched a tear roll down her cheek.

Angel reached out and brushed the tear away, before gently stroking Victoria's hair, which was still tied back from earlier in the day. Victoria whimpered again.

"No, don't hurt me, please don't hurt me, I'm sorry."

"Victoria" Angel softly whispered, but Victoria gave no response.

"Victoria, wake up" Angel hissed, louder this time. It was enough to pull Victoria out of her restless slumber. Her eyes flickered open, and fell on Angel's face. She whimpered again, moving back quickly away fro him, obviously frightened.

"Shh, Victoria, It's just me." Angel soothed her, keeping his face calm, but inside, he was worried. What if Victoria was cracking, loosing her grip on sanity, dragged into madness by the combined pressures of her soul, and his abandonment of her.

"Angel?" Victoria whispered, blinking wearily. Angel nodded.

"I'm here, Baby. It's okay, I won't let anything happen to you."

Victoria hesitated, before crawling back towards him. Angel got up and sat on the edge of the bed, picking one of the blankets up off the bed and draping it around Victoria's shoulders. Victoria grasped the material, pulling it close to herself as she sat beside him, her legs tucked beneath the covers.

"What were you dreaming about?" Angel asked, putting one of his arms around her and pulling her close to him. Victoria nestled her head into his side, and Angel was taken back one hundred years, to the many times Victoria had been held by Angelus just like this. It hadn't meant the same thing back then, it wasn't comfort that Angelus had been offering, but protection, safety and, what he knew Victoria valued the most, the presence of a father figure. Now, Angel knew that he had to become that father figure once again, only on so many more levels than Angelus had ever achieved.

Victoria whimpered softly, "Just memories from different things, you know, over the years. The victims, the other things that happened. It, it just can get to me sometimes."

"It's alright, I understand," Angel murmured softly, pulling Victoria closer to his body. Victoria turned so she was facing him and buried her face into Angel's shirt, and Angel knew before her shoulders even began to shake that she was crying.

"It's alright, little one, I've got you." He whispered reassuringly into her ear, gently stroking her hair with one large hand, while the other held her close, rubbing her back soothingly. They sat in that way for a while, Victoria sitting, cuddled against Angel's chest, crying, while he soothed her, speaking softly into her ear.

Victoria couldn't believe that she was crying on Angel again. She shuddered as she thought of what Angelus would have done if he had seen her like this. He had protected and sheltered her, and may have called her baby, but a display such as this would not have gone down well, especially if Darla happened to be around.

Darla. Victoria burst into a fresh bout of sobs just at the thought of her grand sire, memories of the golden haired vampire dancing across her mind. Standing over her, bringing a whip down upon her back, laughing as Victoria cried out in pain as she was tortured. Hatred flowed through Victoria's veins, like blood through the veins of a human.

"I hate her" she whispered softly. Angel hesitated.

"Who?" he asked.

"Darla, I still dream about all the stuff she did, all the torture. In all the history books, It says you were the one who was the master of torture, but I would rather an eternity of Angelus' torture than a day of Darla's."

Angel let a smile flicker across his face.

"Is that a compliment, or should I be insulted?"

"Take it in whatever way you want to." Victoria shrugged, sniffing.

"What else do you have nightmares about, or is it just Darla?" Angel asked, leaning back against the headboard.

"No, it's other things as well, things that I will tell you about. Maybe when Spike's here as well though. It will save me from saying everything twice. Giles should probably know as well, though I think he will probably want to stake me for some of the things I will have to say."

"Okay, we can do it during the day tomorrow, or, I should say, later on today." Angel suggested. Victoria nodded, before looking at the clock.

"I'm sorry I'm keeping you awake, Angel."

"Don't worry about it, you are my childe, although I haven't acted like it for the past one hundred years, I still care about you. You are my little baby, my little one, you always will be."

"Thank-you, Angel." Victoria murmured, before falling silent again. She wriggled down under the blankets, and Angel slid off the edge of the bed as Victoria curled up, closing her eyes once again. Angel stroked the top of Victoria's head one last time, before he bent down and kissed her on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Little one." He whispered.

"Night Daddy" Victoria sleepily replied, before exhaling and relaxing her body. She quickly fell asleep. Once he was satisfied that she was asleep, Angel crept from the room, closing the door quietly, before returning to his own bed, his mind chaotic, running through the possible things that could haunt his youngest childe's dreams.

**A.N. Hi guys, sorry this chapter is so late, but I kind of was really busy with my holiday, and then Christmas. With a little bit of luck, the next chapter will be up by next Friday. Happy New Year.**

**R.W.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

It was mid morning by the time Angel woke up. He stretched lazily, before swinging his body out of his bed, and getting to his feet. He crossed the room and opened the door, walking down the hallway until he reached Victoria's room. He creaked the door open and poked his head inside. Victoria was lying on the bed, in the exact same position as she had been when Angel had left her earlier that morning. Smiling to himself, Angel closed the door again and went back to his own room. He had a shower, and dressed in a pair of black pants, and a t-shirt, before going down stairs. Despite the fact that he had been up for at least an hour during the night with Victoria, Angel was the first of the three vampires to be up, although, it wasn't unusual for him to be the first up. Spike was very partial to sleeping in.

"Good Morning Giles" Angel called as he passed the Library, knowing the sole human resident of the mansion would already be up.

"What, oh, Good morning Angel" the Watcher called in reply as he emerged from the library, polishing his glasses.

"Did you sleep well?" Angel asked. Giles nodded in reply.

"Well enough, and you?"

"Yes, I slept well, I don't think Victoria did though. She told me it was nightmares. Have you read anything in your books about Victoria that might explain why she's been having these nightmares?"

"Well, there is some speculation in one of the watchers diaries, and a couple of other reference books, but there is nothing that has either been confirmed or denied by Victoria herself."

"She told me she'd speak to the entire group about it at the meeting tonight."

"Oh, that might clear everything up. Do you know what time Buffy and Willow are coming up this afternoon?"

"Buffy finishes work at the School at three, so I think she said she was coming at about three thirty or four o'clock, you know, once she tidied up her office, and then goes and grabs her clothes for the weekend from the house. Willow was coming at three thirty."

"Ah, right then. What were you and Spike planning to do today?"

"I'm not sure. If Victoria is up to it, I think Spike should have a spar with her."

Giles perked up in interest, "That might be interesting to watch."

Angel nodded, a small smile on his mouth.

"I know it will be." he told Giles.

Spike was the next resident of the house to emerge from his room, wearing his customary black t-shirt and black jeans. Angel was tempted to reach over and mess up Spike's hair, but decided that the yelling match that he was sure would follow would wake Victoria up, and he didn't want that, his childe needed all the sleep she could get.

"Morning Ripper, Peaches." Spike greeted sleepily as he made his way across the kitchen, pulling a bag of blood from the fridge and pouring it into his mug.

"Good morning Spike." Giles greeted, sipping his cup of tea as he read the morning newspaper.

"Hello Spike" Angel said, finishing his own mug of blood, and rinsing out his mug in the sink. He glanced up at the clock on the wall. It was just after ten o'clock in the morning. He didn't expect Victoria to be up until at least eleven, so Angel decided that he would get a book from the library and do some quiet reading somewhere. Giles withdrew back to the library, and Angel glanced at Spike from the corner of his eye.

"If she's up for it, do you want to spar with Victoria for a little bit today?" Angel asked. Spike's eyes lit up.

"Hell yes. It will be just like old times, only better." The younger vampire beamed. Angel shook his head.

"Only if she's up for it, and I want you to be gentle on her, she did almost die, permanently, a couple of days ago."

"Yes, Peaches, I know." Spike rolled his eyes at the older vampire, grinning cheekily.

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Victoria yawned sleepily as she woke up, stretching out her legs, before repeating the process with her arms. She rolled over and looked at the clock on the bedside table.

"Wow, five past eleven. Not bad, since up I was up all night crying" she whispered to herself, before sitting up. Swinging her legs off the side of the bed, she slowly slid off the bed, grinning happily when she didn't feel any of the weakness that had plagued her ever since her recovery.

"And, I'm back in the game" she giggled, quoting one of her favourite movies. Victoria skipped across the room to her bag, and grabbed a clean change of clothes, before going to the bathroom. She showered quickly, washing her hair, and scrubbing at her skin, trying to get rid of the memories of her nightmare form the previous night. Then, she emerged from the shower, dried herself off, before dressing in a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt.

Victoria creaked the door open, poking her head out into the corridor. She glanced up and down, but wasn't able to see anyone. Victoria stepped out of the door, gently closing it behind her, before she crept down the corridor. When she got to the top of the stairs, she glanced down into the foyer, instantly spotting her sire, who was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, reading a book. Victoria got a sly grin on her face, and tip toed down the stairs, trying to creep up on her sire. She was about half way down the stairs when Angel spoke

"Nice try, but you're going to have to do better than that to sneak up on me."

"Damn it, and I thought I was going so well." Victoria pouted, sitting down beside Angel.

"How are you today."

"I'm walking completely by myself, is that an indication of how excellent I feel today compared to the last week?" Victoria raised her eyebrow questioningly. Angel grinned.

"Yes, I'd say so. Are you hungry?"

"Hm, a bit peckish" Victoria smiled at her sire as he got up, offering her his hand. She took it, gracefully standing. She followed him as he walked to the kitchen, putting his book down on the kitchen table.

"Where's Spike?" Victoria asked as Angel got some blood ready for her. Angel shrugged.

"Probably in the library annoying Giles" he told her, handing her the mug. Victoria sipped at its streaming contents.

"When did he go peroxide? It's a new look for him, well, new from the last time I saw him."

"I think it was in the seventies or eighties. When did you last see him?"

Victoria thought hard, "I think it would have been about 1910. Yes, that's right. 1910. It was in Switzerland if I remember right. It was only once, him, Dru, and me. We reminisced, and then we went our own ways."

Angel nodded, and the pair sat in silence as Victoria finished off her drink, and read the paper. Angel picked up his book again, and read it, keeping an eye on Victoria so he would know when she had finished reading the news.

"I was thinking that, later on today, depending on if you feel up to it, you could have a spar with Spike." He said. Victoria looked up at him.

"Do you think I'm ready for that?" she asked.

"Just a short session; and I've told Spike to be gentle on you. To be honest, I want to see how much your fighting style has changed since the last time you two sparred." Angel grinned sheepishly. Victoria nodded.

"You want to see how good I've gotten, especially since I am a reasonably famous Demon Hunter?"

"Well, yes, actually. I think Giles wants to see as well. It's not very often that he sees two Vampires, that aren't me and Spike, fighting in a controlled situation."

Victoria laughed, "I doubt any time you and Spike spar would ever be called a controlled situation."

Angel chuckled, "yes, well, that's a good point."

"I thought so." Victoria nodded, before getting up and putting her mug in the sink, rinsing it out.

"Alright then, where and when is this Spar going to take place?" she asked Angel.

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Later that afternoon, Angel found himself sitting in the training room of the Mansion. It was located in the basement, and was very large. Most of the floor space was padded, and the walls were lines with cupboards that contained the majority of the Scooby gang's weaponry. There were punching bags, crash mats, and mitts, although they were all neatly tucked away. Angel and Giles were seated comfortably on some chairs, watching as Victoria stretched. Spike hadn't arrived yet, so the younger vampire was using the opportunity to warm up her muscles, which she wouldn't usually do, but thought it would be a good idea since it had been awhile since she'd had a good fight.

"What type of weapons do you use normally, Victoria?" Giles asked. Victoria stopped stretching and turned to face him.

"Um, a Long bow, stakes, a long sword, knives, and sometimes a crossbow. Pretty standard stuff."

"Victoria was an excellent Archer, even back when she was human. Beat all of her brothers repetitively." Spike commented from the doorway.

"If memory serves correctly, William, I beat you a couple of times as well the last time you came to the country with us."

"Yeah, but that was only my first time using a longbow, gotta give a guy a chance to get used to a weapon before you start judging his skill. And don't call me William." Spike retorted, pouting. Angel and Giles glanced at each other and grinned at the exchange.

"She psyching him up, making him do something stupid." Angel explained to the Watcher, who was nodding.

"Yes, I have seen both yourself and Buffy use that against him to some effect. What did he said back when she was human?"

"Spike, or as he was known back then, William Pratt, was friends with Victoria's two elder brothers, and spent two summers at their country house, where he met Victoria. She commented once that she actually was at his funeral." Angel whispered, so the watcher could hear, but Spike and Victoria could not.

"Oi, Peaches, are you going to watch us or not."

"Go ahead Spike, but remember what I said earlier, be gentle." Angel called to the blonde vampire, who saluted.

"Yes, sir." Spike grinned, turning to face Victoria, who was smiling back at him. The two looked at each other, trying to stare the other one down. Neither of them was using thrall, as far as Angel could tell, but they were getting close to it.

"You ready for you next lesson in Vampire warfare, Queenie?" Spike asked

"Ready as I'll ever be, Blondie. Bring it on." Victoria smirked back. Spike sidestepped, and Victoria did as well, not letting him get any closer than he had been at the beginning. They circled around each other, not loosing eye contact, not even to blink. Angel could see that both of them had golden flecks in thier eyes, their demons fighting to come out and play.

Predictably, it was Spike who made the first move, darting forward, and aiming his fist at the top of Victoria's left arm, attempting to numb it. Victoria quickly ducked the blow, taking advantage of Spike's forward momentum by grabbing hold of his t-shirt, and pulling hard, forcing Spike to the ground. She danced away quickly, as Spike rolled, recovering quickly. From the sidelines, both Angel and Giles were silent, though Angel had a slight smirk on his face. Obviously, he had underestimated his childe.

"Nice move." Spike complemented Victoria, who grinned.

"Thanks."

"Your welcome"

They began to circle slowly again, until Spike swung out again with his fist. Victoria blocked the blow easily, and swung her fist at Spike's head. Spike blocked the blow, gripping both of Victoria's wrists tightly, and raised his eyebrow at the younger vampire, who was now glaring up at him.

"What are you gonna do now, Queenie?" he asked teasingly. Victoria frowned thoughtfully.

"I don't know, this maybe" Victoria brought her knee up into Spike's groin, and the blonde vampire quickly let her wrists go

"Bloody hell, Queenie, that hurt."

"It was supposed to hurt Spike" Victoria rolled her eyes from where she stood. Spike snarled at her, and Victoria had a momentary thought that, maybe, she'd pushed Spike too far.

Spike began a quick succession of kicks and blows, harder than any of the blows that he had given earlier. Victoria began to back up, blocking as many of the blows as she could, but wincing when a couple of them made their way through her defences. This continued until Victoria felt her back hit the concrete wall. She gulped, glancing around for anything that might be useful. She glanced up, and a grin crossed her face. She jumped up, gripping the set of monkey bars that were suspended from the ceiling. She swung her legs, kicking Spike in the chest. Spike dropped to his knees, and Victoria swung herself over him. She moved away from Spike again, until she was back in the middle of the padded floor area. As Spike approached her again, Victoria mentally assessed her body. Her strength was waning, and she knew there was no chance of her winning the fight, if their ever was a chance of her winning it. Shaking her head, trying to clear the weariness away, Victoria once again began to exchange blows with Spike. The clash was short, coming to an end when Spike aimed a kick, albeit a gentle one, at the back of Victoria's knee. Victoria fell, but rolled and got up again, her legs shaking slightly.

"Spike, I said to be gentle. That wasn't gentle." Angel yelled from the sideline.

"I'm fine Angel" Victoria glanced in his direction, before directing her attention back onto Spike, who was grinning.

"Had enough?" he asked.

"I reckon I could go a few more rounds," Victoria grinned, although she knew she was lying. Spike obviously saw right through the lie, because the next series of punches he tossed at her had much less force behind them than the ones that had come previously. Victoria blocked as many of them as she could force her body to block, before Spike knocked her down again. This time, she raised her hands in surrender.

"Okay, I'm done. Surrendering."

"I accept your surrender." Spike grinned, offering her his hand. Victoria was tempted to pull him down beside her, but she doubted she possessed the muscle strength, so she let him pull her upright onto her own two feet.

"That was…interesting" Giles commented from where he was sitting, polishing his glasses gently.

**A.N. Yay, action scene. If you can't tell, Action scenes are not my area of expertise, and I tend to avoid them, but I think this one went well. Next chapter it will be back to the normal dialogue. Depending on feedback, there might be another action scene soon. Well, here is this week's update. I hope you enjoyed it. Things should be back to normal as far as updates go, so every Friday there should be a new one, unless I've been lazy and gotten myself behind again.**

**Just so you know, I have posted a new short story in the Angel archive of called Love and Hate that you might enjoy if you like the Angel/Victoria Father/Child aspect to this story. Love and Hate features Angel and Connor.**

**Reviews make my days happier.**

**R.W. **


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Angel, Spike, Giles and Victoria were still down in the training room when Willow arrived. Victoria was lying on a crash mat, and Spike was sitting beside her, watching her out of the corner of his eye, while Angel and Giles were sitting in chairs.

"Hey Giles, Angel," Willow greeted as she opened the door, "I guessed you guys would be down here. Oh, hey Spike, I didn't see you there." Willow hurried over to Spike who got up and hugged her to him closely. Victoria sat up and moved to a different crash mat, so Spike and Willow could have one to themselves. Once they were seated, she lay back down again.

"I did give you the chance to back out, Queenie." Spike told her as she lay there. Victoria frowned.

"I know, do you hear me blaming you?"

"No" Spike admitted.

"What happened, did I miss something, Willow asked, confused.

"Spike and Victoria had a spar just before," Angel explained.

"Yes, it was most interesting to watch. The techniques you both used. Similar, but at the same time, vastly different." Giles commented. Spike and Victoria both looked at the Watcher.

"Giles, of course we have similar technique, I mean, we both learnt how to fight, principally, from the same guy, and we've just had One hundred and twenty odd years to modify it to suit ourselves." Spike said in his 'well duh' voice. Victoria giggled.

"Well, yes. Of course" Giles said, his cheeks turning red as he realised his mistake. Willow whacked Spike on the arm.

"That wasn't very nice, Spike" she said. Spike turned to face her, grinning roguishly.

"I'm a vampire, love. We're not very nice, as a general rule."

"Oh, really," Willow grinned, "You'll have to show me how not nice vampire's are later on."

Giles cleared his throat, breaking up the pair's moment.

"Right, well then, I'm going to go and do some reading in the library. Tell me when Buffy comes, will you?"

"Sure thing, Giles" Willow grinned at the Watcher, who went out the door and up the stairs.

"So, how's your day been?" Angel asked Willow, who shrugged.

"Can't complain, it's been a bit boring though. It's better now."

"I wonder why?" Angel smirked, as Willow snuggled closer to Spike. Victoria giggled.

"What's going on?" Buffy's voice sounded from where she stood in the doorway, having just arrived.

"Hey Buff" Willow greeted.

"Slayer" Spike nodded.

"Hello Buffy" Victoria politely greeted, raising her head from the mat.

"Buffy, I'm so glad you're here," Angel got up to greet his girlfriend. He held her in his arms, softly kissing her.

"Hmm, Hello Angel. I'm glad I'm here too. So, what was going on when I came in?" Buffy smiled as they broke apart

"Willow was commenting on how much better her day has been since she got here." Spike chipped in

"My day has gotten better since I got here too." Buffy grinned, kissing Angel back. Victoria rolled her eyes, sliding off her crash mat.

"I'm just going to see if Giles wants some help in the library." She said, moving towards the door. When no one said anything, Victoria shrugged and left the room.

Angel frowned as he and Buffy broke apart again, "Damn, I should have tried to include her then, Shouldn't I"

"Its okay, Peaches, I'm sure she'll be fine." Spike said.

"Yeah, you can make it up with her later" Willow added.

Angel sighed, "I guess. Come on, Buffy, let's get some training done."

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Victoria was silent as she walked into the library, admiring the fine details of the room, and the row upon row of books, mostly on the occult, but there were a couple of shelves lined with novels and other non demonology and witchcraft related books. Victoria raised her pale hand, and ran it along the book spines gently. She smiled, noticing how clean all the shelves were. Someone (she guessed Giles) went to great measures to ensure the books stayed safe.

Speaking of Giles, Victoria spotted the watcher sitting at his desk, reading a book. She slowly approached him, knowing that he was unsteady with her presence. Victoria couldn't blame him; she did have a history as far as Watchers were concerned.

She tilted her head slightly reading the title of the book he was reading.

'Infamous vampires of the twentieth century'

"Hi, what are you looking at?" Victoria asked. The watcher gasped, jumping slightly.

"Sorry" Victoria apologised, a guilty expression upon her face. Giles shook his head.

"It's all right; I'm used to it now. Living with two vampires who enjoy sneaking around gives one a kind of immunity to getting overly surprised when someone pops up out of nowhere."

"I guess it would. What are you looking at?"

"Oh, just a book on vampires who were famous, or notorious in the last century. There is no apparent threat at the moment, but I like to be prepared. There always seems to be a new threat coming."

"I'd heard that, about Sunnydale. I heard that you guys get kept pretty busy, what with the hellmouth and all that."

"Where did you hear that?" Giles asked, removing his glasses and polishing them with his handkerchief.

"Through the Demon grapevine, back when I was up at home up north. I knew that the Slayer was living in Sunnydale, and that she was a damn good slayer. I heard about all these apocalypses that she's prevented. Funnily though, I never heard that Angel and Spike where helping her out though."

"Speaking of Angel and Spike, why aren't you down in the training room with them? I thought you would have liked to spend time with them."

"Buffy is here, and they kind of all paired up. I knew that I wouldn't be up to another spar today, so I thought that I might be more useful up here with you doing research, if that's okay with you, of course."

"Of course, you are welcome to help out. There is not much to research, like I said. We're in between crises at the moment."

"Sounds like I chose the right time to arrive then." Victoria joked, and Giles chuckled.

"Yes, well, you did." He slid his glasses back onto his nose

"Can I ask you a question, Mr. Giles?" Victoria asked.

"Yes, and please, call me Giles or Rupert, everyone else does."

"Am I in that book? I know I was no-where near as notorious as Angelus, or Spike, but, well, I kind of still carried a notoriety that would surpass most other vampires, especially towards, um, certain ethnic groups."

"Ah, yes, your deeds as Victoria the Vengeful? Yes, they are in here, as well as some of your more recent, um, conquests."

Victoria cringed, "Do the others know? Angel and Spike, Buffy, Willow?"

"I don't know how much Angel has read into your recent history, but I'm pretty sure that none of the others know what it is."

"I should tell them, though. Tonight, maybe? It would sound better coming from my own mouth than out of some book, even though I'll be saying pretty much the same thing."

"I think that would be a wise idea, Victoria" Giles softly said, and Victoria raised her eyes to meet his.

"Yeah, I think so too."

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"So, I forgot to ask, who won in the fight between you and Victoria?" Willow asked as she and Spike climbed up the stairs from the basement training room, up into the main house. Spike had given her a self defence lesson, before Angel and Buffy had sparred.

Spike turned to face the red haired woman he loved, "I am shocked you even had to ask that question, Red. Of course I won. Queenie got a few good hits in, but I won."

"And were you gentle on her, Spike? I mean, she's been sick, well, as sick as vampires get anyway."

"I was as gentle as a kitten, luv" Spike grinned reassuringly.

"Well, that's good then," Willow smiled. Spike draped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her close to him. He gently used his finger to raise her chin, before brushing his lips against hers. Willow responded, deepening the kiss, before pulling away, smiling up at Spike.

"Come on; let's see if Giles needs any help researching. Xander, Cordy, and Mrs. Summers will be here soon, and Buffy said that her mom was bringing Pizza for dinner."

"Sounds good, pet. If she isn't in the library I might go looking for Queenie. She was fairly tired after the spar; better make sure she hasn't passed out in the kitchen or something."

"I guess." Willow agreed as they entered the Mansion's foyer and walked to the library door, which was open. They both walked in, and approached the Watcher's desk. Giles was sitting at a desk, a cup of steaming hot tea in front of him, his face buried in a thick book. Spike smirked when he spotted Victoria curled on one of the couches, a nearly empty mug of blood in one hand, and a book in the other, which she was intently reading.

"Oh, hello Willow and Spike. How was your session in the training room?" Giles asked, having finally realised they were standing in front of him.

"It was good. Buffy and Angel are having their workout now." Willow said, and Giles cringed. It was a widely known fact that ever since Angel's soul had been made permanent by Willow, Buffy and Angel's 'workouts' almost always ended up in them having sex on the training room floor or on the crash mats.

"So we shan't expect them to come to the library for a while then?" Giles queried

"Nah, wouldn't count on it." Spike grinned. Giles took off his glasses and polished them as Spike went over to Victoria.

"What are you doing Queenie?" the blonde vampire asked.

"Reading" Victoria replied, the 'well duh' concealed in her statement obvious.

"Really, and what is it you may be reading?" Spike asked, adopting a more sarcastic voice than the one he used usually.

"A book on modern vampire threats, I wanted to have a look through and see who the Watchers council considers a threat these days." Victoria explained. Spike nodded.

"Anyone that I'd know?"

"A couple that I remember Angelus telling me about, or meeting back when we were still with him, and there's one or two that I've met since then, and there's three that I've killed since I've gotten my soul back, so you might know a couple of them. Of course, I don't think the Council knows about me getting my soul, because I'm on this list as well, and you, and Dru. No Angelus though."

"When was it published?" Willow asked from another couch, which she'd sat down on. Spike went and joined her.

"Um, it says September, 1998, why?"

"That was when Angel was in Hell." Willow said.

"Yes, and the council knew that Angelus was missing, presumably destroyed." Giles said. Victoria was frowning.

"Wait a minute, Angel was in Hell? Boy, obviously I was out of the loop."

"Yeah, well, it's a long story. Quite funny, really." Spike began.

"You mean all those times that Buffy kicked your backside." Willow teased, "How about I'll tell the story, because I was there for more of it that you."

Spike pouted, "It's not my fault Slutty dropped an organ on me and broke my back."

**A.N. Here is this week's instalment. You might notice that this chapter and the next couple might be not as good as the previous chapters, but I've had a couple of issues with writer's block, as well as it being a kind on uneventful point of the story (I have a plan written out for where I want it to go.)**

**Thank you to those who have been reviewing, it really has been helping me keep going with this story.**

**R.W. **


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Victoria sat silently in the library, her eyes focused on the book in front of her, while the rest of the gang waited, not so patiently in Xander's case, for Joyce to arrive with dinner. Spike had started teasing Xander about his food obsession, and Willow was sending glares at both of them. Buffy would occasionally throw a barbed comment at Spike, who would retort with an equally barbed comment, before redirecting his attention to Xander. Angel was watching, a slight smile on his face as he watched the gang unwinding from their week. Cordelia stood at Xander's side, shooting sideways glances at Willow, and then rolling her eyes at their boyfriends' behaviour. When they heard the front door to the mansion open, Giles let out a groan of relief as Xander hurried off to meet Joyce at the door, closely followed by Buffy, Cordelia, Willow, and Spike. Giles met Angel's gaze, and nodded slightly at the look Angel sent to him, before following the rest of the Scoobies out of the library. Angel watched him go, before walking over to where Victoria was perched.

"Come on, little one, dinner time" Angel said, getting Victoria's attention. Victoria looked up at him, and Angel was reminded of how small she was. That was why his pet name for her was little one. That, and he had fully intended for her to be his last childe, which made her the baby of the clan.

Victoria put her book aside, after marking her page with a scrap of paper, and got to her feet, not saying anything. Angel frowned, and gently touched her arm. Victoria jumped slightly, not expecting the contact.

"Hey, what's the matter? Did Giles or Spike say something?"

"No, it's fine. I'm fine."

"No, your aren't. Something has upset you. What is it?"

"I suggested to Giles that since there is not much happening in the demon world at the moment, I should use tonight to tell everyone what I've been up to since, well, since you and I last saw each other. I've just been thinking about, well, what I've done, and let me put it this way, I'm not proud of myself."

Angel closed his eyes, realising that Victoria hadn't been reading the book at all, but brooding. He, of all people, should know brooding when he saw it.

"No one is asking you to be, little one," He murmured, pulling her down onto the couch beside him. Victoria sniffed, and huddled close to Angel's body. Angel smiled, remembering how Victoria had spent many hours huddled in Angelus' arms before he had gotten his soul back. Angelus had quickly learnt that Victoria was a very hands on when it came to showing affection, especially towards Dru, Spike, and of course, Angelus himself. With Darla, however, Victoria had been more subdued, instinctively knowing that the elder vampire would not tolerate a gesture, such as being embraced by someone with whom she was not sexually intimate with, being preformed on her, or even in the same room as her.

As Angel predicted she would, Victoria wormed her arms around him, and he wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders, knowing from the muffled noises his childe was making, as well as the slight shaking in her shoulders that she was sobbing.

"There were so many, Angel. I still hear their voices when I sleep, not only the ones I killed, but the ones they left behind."

"Shh, it's okay, little one. You had to hunt; you were just following your instincts, doing what the demon needed you to so you would survive. No vampire, souled or otherwise, makes the choice not to hunt lightly, not without daily struggles. I'm sure every souled vampire goes through the same thing you are, reflecting on what they did before hand and cringing. I know, I do it all the time. If you hadn't noticed, I brood a lot. Xander and Spike tease me about it, but since he's gotten his soul back, I know Spike does it was well."

"My friends tease me about it too." Victoria smiled, thinking about her friends, thousands of miles north of Sunnydale, "they have a little saying. When Tory's a-brooding, don't go intruding."

Angel laughed, "Don't tell Xander about that one, we'll never hear the end of it. Come on, let's go and get some blood, then you can tell your story."

"Alright, Sire" Victoria untangled herself form Angel before getting up, and following him from the library. The walked into the dining room, to find that the rest of the Sccobies were sitting around the dining room table, which had four large pizzas on it, as well as two sticks of garlic bread, and assorted glasses and mugs of drinks. Giles and Joyce were drinking tea, Spike was drinking blood, and the rest were drinking soda. Victoria watched as Angel warmed up blood for them both, before sitting down next to Willow, holding her mug in both hands, feeling the warmth through the ceramic, and letting it warm her hands. Even as a vampire she had hated being cold.

'Hey, Victoria, do you eat? Human food I mean, because, well, I know you eat blood. I know some vampires do, and other don't, and some sometimes do, but usually don't and I was just wondering what you did." Willow asked, babbling slightly. Victoria couldn't help but grin at the redhead's enthusiasm, and obvious attempt at helping her feel included.

"Yes, I eat human food. I like it a lot actually. I'm allergic to fish though. I once drank fish blood, and my face went all puffy. I have a Polaroid of it back home, it's quite funny."

"What else do you like?" Buffy asked.

"Chocolate, ice cream, you know, pretty much everything. I was the one responsible for the cooking back home, so I got to try lots of things."

"You can cook?" Willow asked. Victoria nodded.

"I bet Angel and Spike can't cook"

Xander snorted, "Deadboy is limited to Scrambled eggs, though he is improving. Last time he tried to cook pancakes; he only burnt them a little bit."

"Deadboy?" Victoria asked. Willow giggled.

"Xander's nick name for Angel. Angel hates it, so Xander calls him that just to get a rise out of him."

"So what do you call Spike, Xander?" Victoria asked, smiling.

"Dead boy junior, the impotent one, fangless, take your pick. Yep, Deadboy is Angel, which makes you Dead girl."

"Dead girl, hmmm, I kind of like it. It's cute." Victoria grinned, ignoring the looks on Spike and Angel's faces.

"Do you want some pizza?" Joyce asked, offering a box to Victoria, who nodded.

"Thank-you, Joyce." Victoria took a slice and bit into it. Watching the rest of the gang interact, she ate her slice of pizza, enjoying the taste. Spike was eating pizza to, but Angel was content just with his mug of blood.

Victoria finished off her slice, and then had another, seeing as there was still lots of food remaining. Victoria then leant back from the table, mentally preparing herself for the ordeal that was to come, that is, telling a group of people, including her sire, Will, a watcher, a slayer, a powerful witch, a slayer's mother, and two other humans.

Do you want some garlic bread, Victoria' Cordelia asked.

"Cordy, she is a vampire." Xander reminded his girlfriend, who grinned apologetically.

"Sorry, Victoria, I forgot"

"Its okay, Garlic never has been a problem for me."

"What do you mean," Giles asked. Victoria shrugged.

"I don't know if it's myth or something, but Garlic has never harmed me in any way. I even swallowed a clove whole once for a dare and was fine, except for a case of really bad garlic breath, which I fixed up with a large number of tic tacs."

Spike snorted, "Nice one, way to tell the Watcher about the thing that is useless against Vampires that everyone thinks works."

"Opps" Victoria winced.

"I can't believe you ate a clove of garlic once. For a dare. What were you doing?" Angel asked, shock on his face.

"Playing truth or dare. We were bored" Victoria shrugged. Joyce chose this moment to get up and begin to clear away the pizza boxes and the dirty dishes. Victoria, Willow, Buffy and Cordelia all helped her do the washing up, while the guys went into the library waiting for the meeting to start.

The kitchen in proper working order, the girls all went onto the library, and Buffy and Victoria sat on one of the couches on either side of Angel. Willow sat beside Spike, Cordy beside Xander, and Joyce sat beside Giles on the edge of his desk.

"Because there isn't much to research tonight, Victoria is going to tell us about her background." Giles said

"How far back are we talking?" Buffy asked. Giles took off his glasses and polished them, before looking at Victoria. Realising that she needed to answer, Victoria shrugged.

"Um, I don't know. It's up to you guys. We could go the whole way back to when I was turned in 1882, or to when Angelus left in 1902, or all the way back to when I was born in 1864."

"Hey, she's only ten years younger than you, Spike.' Willow commented. Spike nodded.

"I know. Luv," he whispered to her.

"How about we just go from 1902. We've got a pretty good idea of what unlife with Angelus is like. Torture, destroy, kill, move onto the next person." Xander said.

"Actually, if we want to skip all the killing, torturing and destroying, how about we just skip ahead to 1986." Victoria grimaced.

"1902 is fine, thank you Victoria" Giles said, though Victoria noticed the notepad he had pulled from his desk draw, and the pen he was holding over the paper.

Victoria nodded, turning her head from the notepad and trying to forget about it.

"Okay, make yourselves comfortable, this could end up taking a while."

Victoria paused; making sure all the others looked comfortable, before taking a calming, though unnecessary breath.

"Okay, well, at the start of 1902, we were travelling through Southern Russia, heading back to Europe after our trip to China…"

A.N. Here is the latest instalment to this story. Next week, Victoria tells the story about her past, and why she decided to regain her soul. I hope you liked this chapter, even though nothing really interesting happens in it. I've had good feedback about having little Angel and Victoria scenes, so I put one in here. Reviews are always good though, they scare away the nasty writer's block that I have been having trouble with.

R.W.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"After we lost Angelus in Romania, Darla, Spike, and I attacked the tribe that cursed Angelus. A lot of the group were able to escape, mainly because they knew that Angelus wasn't travelling alone, and so there was bound to be retaliation on our part, but all the ones that were still there were killed. Then, Darla told Spike and I that she wanted nothing more to do with the three of us, and ran off. Then, Spike and Dru went off, and I realised that I was going to have to figure things out on my own. I struggled with that I idea at first, and followed after Angel, tracking him. Eventually, I caught up, but I'd been so focused on tracking him, that I didn't realise that Darla was following me. She, well, wasn't overly impressed with me, and tortured me, before leaving me to burn to death in a barn. I passed out from the pain, and the next thing I know, I am laying in a different barn, with Angelus' medallion, and a note from him lying beside me. I read the note and realised that Angelus was never going to come back, that I would never see him again, and that I was better off doing what Darla initially told me to do. Get my ass out of Romania and forget that Angelus was my sire. As soon as the sun set that evening, I got my horse, the few belongings that had been saved from the fire, the note, and the medallion, which I wore, (I wasn't able to properly let go, I still haven't.) and went out. Angelus had gone in one direction, and I hightailed it in the opposite direction. I didn't see Angelus again until the night I was brought here."

"So, you and Darla parted on bad terms, and Spike and Dru went off together. Angelus goes off, and you decide to do as you were told, and go off on your own? What happened next?" Giles asked.

Xander interrupted, "I'm sorry, I'm still getting my head around the fact that you two," he pointed at Spike and Victoria, "and Darla attacked and KILLED the Gypsies that cursed Angel."

"What do you expect, Whelp, we are Vampires, after all? We kill people; it's what we do, unless you're us three, in which case we kill demons." Spike said.

"If you didn't like that bit, you aren't going to like what comes up later. It get's a lot worse." Victoria added, cringing slightly.

Giles winced slightly, glancing around the group. Buffy's face was hard, and Giles knew it was only her devotion to Angel, and the fact that she was secure in her knowledge that Victoria had her soul that prevented her from staking the female vampire. Joyce was uneasy, and had subconsciously drawn closer to Giles. Willow's face seemed unfazed by Victoria's story so far, but then, Giles knew that the young witch could see, just like him, how much recounting her past deeds was making Victoria suffer. Angel and Spike were the same, they hated talking about the past, though they both, especially Angel, dwelt on it constantly. Cordelia too seemed quite calm, but then, Giles knew that she and Angel had talked at length about Angelus' deeds, and Victoria's deeds so far paled in comparison. Giles could see disgust on Xander's face, but at the same time, the boy's features were tinged with curiosity. Much like everyone else's, he was eager to learn more about the younger vampire.

"Please, continue," Giles said, refocusing on Victoria. Victoria nodded, and took a deep, and un needed breath.

"Well, once I left Romania, I didn't know where to go. I travelled around Europe, never staying in any one place for more than a week, before I headed back to England, and lay low. That got boring, though, and I headed back to the continent, heading as far east as Russia, before roughly zig sagging my way back through Europe towards England, before going out eastwards again. I sometimes joined up with small gangs of Vampires, and travelled with them, but I never stayed with them for more than six moths, I didn't like it. At some point during those years, I decided that I'd never sire a childe, and that I would avoid cohabitating with others as much as I could."

"What years are these in?" Giles asked. Victoria pursed her lips thoughtfully.

"The years between 1902, and 1909. By the time 1909 was almost over, I was passing through Hungary, when I heard, through the demon grapevine, that the Kalderash clan of gypsies, the ones who cursed Angelus, were to have a gathering during the summer in Romania. I stayed around their and did some research, crossing the border into Romania for the first time since I'd fled, after Darla's attack. I discreetly gathered information up, until I discovered what I wanted to know, the location of the gathering."

"Why don't I like where this is going?" Buffy asked the group.

Victoria cringed, "Well, lets just say, this is the part where I would say 'Any people present who have a weak heart or constitution, or just don't like gruesomeness, please leave the room.'"

Victoria glanced around the group, who appeared to be mentally preparing themselves for a tale of horror and gore, which the next part of her story promised to be. She gave them a full thirty seconds before recommencing her story.

"Once I found that out, I started preparing. Angelus once told me that when you have a specific target, it was important to plan. I headed for the gathering sight, a campsite in the middle of a forest, not that far from where Angelus had been cursed. Then, I waited. As the smaller groups began to arrive, I was able to get a rough estimate of the number of Gypsies in the clan. There were supposed to be about 100 there, at final count there was 135 there, of those, twenty were children, two were pregnant women, five were on their death beds, and four were adult males that had no magical or physical strength that I could sense."

"What about the other 104?" Willow asked, intrigued by the story about Miss Calender's ancestors.

"Once all the groups were present, I waited for night to fall on the camp. The gypsies were having a party, and a great number of them got very drunk. I think that was the only reason I was able to surprise them. As part of my preparation, I'd shielded myself magically from any unfriendly spells, or curses, especially a certain curse that I had witnessed first hand, to the best of my abilities, and well, I attacked. I'll spare you the details, but the blood ran thick and fast that night. I never felt such a thrill from killing as I did that night. That was, really, the first time I'd put to use ant of the lessons Angelus had given me, and the little that I had seen, of torture. By sunrise, the only ones left were the 31 I mentioned before. I let them go, warning them that if I heard of them or from them again, I would finish the job and destroy that tribe even more than I already had. I left the clearing the gathering was being held in as a mess, with obvious messages to anyone who might go there as to who did it, and why they did it."

"What sort of messages?" Spike asked. Victoria cringed.

"Um, well, I carved Angelus' symbol into the trees, and into the bodies of some of the Gypsies, I wrote revenge everywhere, on their bodied, on the trees, on their clothes, and on their Caravans, and I always capitalised the V in it. The watchers council figured it out though, because when I was in London in 1912, they were calling me Victoria the Vengeful. To this day, the Kalderash Gypsies live in fear of me. If you ever asked one of them, or even any Gypsy, if they had to be locked in a room with Angelus or myself, unsouled, who would they choose, and they will pick Angelus every time. More recently, after I had regained my soul, and I was hunting demons, I was in a bar doing some research near the Romanian border, when I was sought out by a Gypsy, I think he was a Kalderash, and asked to sign a treaty. I would never again enter Romania, and they would leave me alone. I haven't heard much on the Gypsy front ever since."

"Wow," Willow softly spoke.

"Good thing Miss Calender isn't here any more" Xander whispered in Cordelia's ear, too softly for anyone but her, and the vampires to hear. Angel flinched guiltily, and Victoria looked curiously at Spike, who shrugged.

"Later" he mouthed, and Victoria nodded.

"Well, interesting story" Buffy commented, trying to break the silence, as her mother sat silently beside Giles, who had removed his glasses and was polishing them quickly.

"I did warn you, and well, I was a semi notorious vampire, so there was going to be gruesome bits in the story. I promise that it gets better." Victoria said seriously, her eyes dark with emotion. The more perceptive ones of the group could see that, although she was preventing it from seeping into her voice, Victoria was getting upset, her guilt welling through her as she reflected on her past crimes against humanity.

"Yes, it was to be expected. Please, continue." Giles slid his glasses back on, and picked up his pen, holding it ready over his notebook once again. He had already taken a large number of notes while Victoria had been talking.

"After I felt that I had satisfactorily destroyed the Kalderash clan, I continued travelling around Europe, and happened to meet up with Spike and Dru briefly, before we went our own ways again. After about a year and a half though, I was bored with Europe, and decided to give the Americas a go. I'd been there briefly before Angelus had been cursed, and had liked it, so I headed for London, and sailed across the Atlantic in 1912. I stayed in North America and travelled around, claiming one of Angelus' houses as my own. I stayed there until about 1925 or 1930, so I pretty much missed out on World War One."

"May I ask a question, in regards to your crossing of the Atlantic in 1912?" Giles asked. Victoria closed her eyes briefly, and a flicker of pain crossed her face as she nodded.

"Are the rumours true?"

"Which one, there are many?" Victoria asked, although she knew exactly which one Giles was referring to.

"The rumour about you and the Titanic?"

Victoria shuddered, and lowered her gaze, "Yes, that ones true. I was on it, I was counted amongst the dead, and I don't remember much of it. I was sort of unconscious for the aftermath."

Around the circle, everyone's faces were marked with shock.

"What was it like?" Buffy softly asked. Victoria glanced up and met the Slayer's gaze.

"It was one of the most horrifying things I've ever seen. The chaos and Confusion, the sounds, the screaming. The water was so cold, and so deep, and we were so far away from the coast. It was the first time since I went out on my own that I was convinced that I was going to be killed. There was a Slayer on board that God forsaken behemoth of a boat, and as the unsinkable sank, she tried to fight me; I was only able to escape because of the confusion. She survived it, though. Anyway, when the Titanic was going under, I hit my head on something and passed out. When I woke up, I was floating, face down, in the icy water, freezing. I was able to find a life raft that had been abandoned when the rescue boats picked the survivors up, and I collected the dead, feeding off them as much as I could, before chucking them back in the water. I then made a paddle out of a stick of wreckage, and began to paddle towards America. When the sun began to rise, I capsized the boat, and tread water beneath it. When the sun sank beneath the horizon, I set out again. It took me four nights to get to shore, by which point, I was on the edge of starvation and I was exhausted. It took me a good couple of weeks to get back to normal. To this day, I don't like being in deep, cold water, or drinking from semi frozen corpses." Angel and Spike both shuddered at Victoria's final comment.

"Was it like the Movie?" Cordelia asked. Victoria smiled reflectively.

"The Movie did not do it justice, although I did like the storyline behind it. The actual sinking, when it went down, that was just unbelievable. There are not words that describe it and do it justice."

The group fell silent once again, and Angel found himself watching his childe, shocked at what she had to endure after he had left, and also amazed at how well she coped with his absence.

"What happened after that?" Xander quietly asked, and everyone else silently thanked the boy for breaking the ongoing silence.

"Well, like I said, I set up base in a house up north, and travelled around America and Canada for the next twelve years or so. A lot of the Vampires that were in America left when World War one started and headed for Europe. I stayed behind, I was still discovering America, and besides, I didn't want to get caught up in the war. They can be dangerous, even for Vampires. After a while though, I got bored with the people, and I'd heard the Master had set up operations on a certain Californian Hellmouth, so I decided that it would be nice to see Europe again."

"Hang on, you heard about The Master being in Sunnydale, and you left America? Wouldn't you have, you know, gone and joined up with him. I mean, you were on the same side at that point, though why anyone would side with that greasy, sleazy, cranky old man of a vampire." Cordelia asked. Victoria was the one who shuddered this time. Spike, however, was curious.

"Yeah, Queenie, why did you run from your dear old Great Granddad, do tell."

"The same reason you would have run. I heard what he was plotting, with the whole opening the hellmouth deal, and I was not interested in being involved. Open Hellmouth pretty much means end of the world, and I was still interested in seeing the world, and well, end of the world means no more humans, and I liked humans. I still do, just in a completely different way. Besides, I'd heard that Darla was in Sunnydale with her daddy, and well, there was no love there. I valued my unlife too much to hang around."

"And the fact that your scared stiff of the Master" Spike added, smirking.

"I'm not the only one, William." Victoria retorted. Spike flinched.

"Touché"

"Let me get this straight, you two are both scared of the Master?" Xander was grinning. Spike growled at the boy, and Victoria looked sheepish.

"Well, he was a bit of a bastard when we were younger, and he left and impression. Speak of the devil, what's he up to lately. I haven't heard about him in about eight years."

The Scoobies exchanged grins, and Spike snorted. Victoria's eyes narrowed.

"What's with the shiftiness? You're scaring me here."

"He's dead." Giles said.

"Uh, duh, he's a vampire. We are dead." Victoria rolled her eyes.

"No, as in dusted." Xander added.

"Poof" Willow exclaimed, making a poofing action with her hand.

"I killed him in 1996, he tried to escape from his little underground cavern, and, well, he did briefly, but then I kicked him through the glass roof of the high school library, and he impaled himself on the staircase." Buffy explained. Victoria grinned, then giggled, then lost control and started laughing.

"Old Bat face being impaled on a staircase. Oh that is BRILLIANT! I would have paid good money to see that. Oh, this is one of the best moments of my unlife," She giggled, bouncing a little in her seat, "Seriously; you guys have just been promoted to my favourite humans, except for the guys in my gang, of course."

"I think she is impressed" Spike chuckled, and Angel nodded.

"You think?" Xander laughed. Victoria calmed down, still smiling, and wiping at her eyes, which had blood red tears of joy in them.

"Alright, where was I, or rather, when was I? Oh yeah, just gone back to Europe. Well, after I flew back to Europe, as I had decided that going by boat was not an option, I just travelled around again. I went through Asia, before heading back towards Europe. By this point of time, it was the late 1930's, Depression era. I was drifting around all over the place, with no real purpose. Then, World War Two happened, and I didn't know where to go. I made for northern France, hoping to be able to escape, but I didn't make it. I was caught by the Germans near the border, and, well, once they realised what I was, I was determined as something that would be useful to their cause. I was taken, under heavy guard, to Auschwitz, where I spent three years chained in a cell, under heavy guard, with only limited feeding. Naturally, I was a way of getting rid of other POWs. I was frequently tortured, and I watched a lot of people being tortured too. I'd never seen humanity being, so, well, inhumane towards one another. The things I saw there, well, it made my early experiences with Angelus seem like kids stuff. Anyway, when the shit hit the fan for the Germans in 1945, I escaped, and headed west. I stood a better chance with the Americans, English, and their Allies, than against the Russians. Ever since then I've been travelling the world. "

"What about when you got your soul, when did that happen?" Giles asked.

"Well, it would have been 1982 when I made the decision, but it was another four years before I did anything about it. I wasn't going to walk up to some random Gypsy and ask they could give me my Soul back. Hunting and killing humans was getting boring, it wasn't a challenge anymore, even when I went after more challenging kills. 1982 was the year I celebrated my 100th Death day, 100 years since my turning. I spent the majority of the year in England, you know, revisiting all the old haunts, and reflecting on what I'd done for the last 100 years. Even without the soul, I wasn't overly happy with what I'd done. I travelled around Europe, gathering information about possible ways I could get around getting my soul. Early on in 1986, I headed for the Black Forest, because it's always a good place to catch up on the gossip and see who's about, and to collect information, especially about magic. I happened to meet up with a friend while I was there, and he was contemplating doing the same thing. While we were there, we found out about the demon in Africa could help us. Hoping that it wasn't going to be a wild goose chase, we went down to Africa, and by the end of the year, we were both fully souled. Then there was three years of utmost despair, insanity, depression, and suicide attempts on both of our parts as we worked our way back up into Europe, and flew to the States. I'd always liked Michigan, so we headed there. In a small town, named Oakfield, we found a bar, and were having some quiet drinks together, when we were approached by a pair of elderly women. Their names were Alice and Rose, and they were sisters. They were also reasonably powerful witches. They could sense that my friend and I were vampires, but they could see that we were souled, don't ask me how, I still haven't figured that out. They offered to let us stay with them. I'd been considering taking an active part in the fight against demons and vampires, and well, with Alice and Rose, it was the perfect place for me to do it. My friend, on the other hand, still loved the open road, so he went off, after promising that if I ever needed him, he'd be back, and that he would return every three years or so, so we could catch up. The town I was living in, well, it wasn't a hellmouth, but it was still a fairly demon and vampire rich area. And, well, it was only five or so hours to get to Chicago, or Cleveland, or only two and a bit to get to Detroit. As time passed, one by one, the rest of my gang came into the fold. Alice died in October, 1994, and Rose died in February 1995. They left all their possessions to me, and to my cause, as they had no family. For the last nine years, I've been trying to honour that cause."

**A.N. Here it is, Victoria's story. In full. I hope you like it. Wow this chapter is really long. Sorry about that. I know that it isn't Friday (my usual update day) but it is Australia Day, and so I decided to put this up early to celebrate. **

**Happy Australia Day to all of the Aussie Readers!**

**Just a side note, because I've updated on a Tuesday, it might be Saturday or Sunday before I update next. It depends on how quickly I can bang out the next chapter.**

**Reviews always provide inspiration though (hint hint)**

**R.W. **

. There were supposed to be about 100 there, at final cou


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The entire group was silent as they absorbed what Victoria had told them. Some, like Xander, Cordy, Giles and Joyce, had slightly nervous expressions upon their faces. Angel, Spike, Buffy, and Willow however were calmer, or at least were able to disguise their unease better than the others. Victoria watched the others digest, inwardly cringing as she noticed how nervous they were. She glanced at Angel, now feeling slightly nervous herself. Angel smiled at her reassuringly, nodding his head in approval. Victoria instantly understood what she was being told. That Angel thought no differently of her, even though she had murdered so many people in revenge for what happened to him, and that he approved of how much of her story she didn't tell. Only he, Spike, Giles, and possibly Willow and Buffy, would be the only ones who knew that all those times Victoria said she was just travelling around really meant that she was going from town to town, feeding and killing a couple of people, before moving on.

Giles took off his glasses and began to polish them, studying the faces of the rest of the group. He could see that Victoria was doing the same, and that she was becoming increasingly nervous, fearful of the groups generally negative reaction to her story. Deep down, however, the former Watcher felt sorry for the Vampire; although everything he had ever been taught while he had been training to become a watcher told him he should stake the dark haired girl that sat beside Angel. He had heard the story of the massacre of the Kalderash Gypsy clan by a member of Angelus' family, presumably Victoria; although there was no concrete proof that it had been her. Victoria, however, was the prime suspect, as far as the Watcher's Council was concerned anyway. Giles, however, had no intention of telling the council that Victoria had confessed, unless she gave him her permission to do so, as ever since the whole being fired situation back in 1999, the Englishman felt that he was tied more strongly to the gang, and its allies, than with the council, and that his loyalty was definitely to the Scoobies, including Angel and Spike, and, by association, Victoria. Giles had a feeling, however, that at some point, Victoria would earn her own place in the Scooby gang. Replacing his glasses on his face, Giles cleared his throat.

"Is there anything someone else wants to add?"

"Any questions?" Victoria added.

"It doesn't sound like you've done anything that's, you know, worse than what Angel or Spike have done." Buffy said.

"How long has it been since you, well, killed a human?" Joyce asked Victoria.

"Eighteen years, since I got my soul." Victoria promptly answered.

"And you've been hunting demons up north for the last fifteen years?" Cordy asked.

"Yes, we averaged about sixty demons a year, and then there were vampires, and a couple of other little situations we had to deal with. It kept us busy, not at this time of year though. Coming out of winter everything is still warming up, or hasn't come back from their winter vacations."

"I think I speak for everyone when I say Huh" Xander said. Victoria let a slight smile cross her face.

"You wouldn't have to deal with it down here, but up in Michigan, it gets really, really cold in the winter. Most demons tend to like warmer conditions, so from December to about March is really quiet Demon wise because they all head south. It gets back to normal in early May though. Most Demons that migrate like to spilt the year, six months up north, six months down south somewhere." Victoria explained.

"I'd heard that, but it's never been an issue for us" Giles commented, interested by Victoria's theory.

"Yeah, Queenie, It doesn't even snow here. No white Christmas or anything." Spike was grinning, and Victoria put a shocked expression on her face.

"What! No white Christmas, no snow men and snow ball fights, and snow angels, and going ice skating on the frozen over pond in the backyard. That's sacrilege." She said, her voice outraged. Spike cracked and began to laugh, and Victoria began to giggle as well.

"Hey, we had snow one year." Willow protested as Angel and Spike chuckled, remembering their white Christmases as a family.

"Yeah, our senior year" Cordy put in.

"The year that Angel tried to, um, never mind." Buffy faded off, not knowing if Angel wanted Victoria to know about what happened that year.

As Victoria's laughter eased, she relaxed a little, "its okay, Spike. I've had Summertime Christmases before, when I was in Australia, and when I was in Africa."

"Oh, you've been to Australia?" Willow was interested.

"Why would you go there? There's nothing there but desert and beaches." Spike teased.

"I spent seven or eight years travelling around Australia in the sixties. And there is a lot more there than just Deserts and Beaches, let me tell you, Spike." Victoria smiled.

Giles tuned himself out of the conversation, happy to just watch Victoria interacting with the group. Xander and Cordelia had relaxed slightly, and Joyce had obviously come to the conclusion that the younger girl wasn't a threat to her extended family. Giles had known that for many years now, Joyce considered Willow and Xander to be just like her own children, and that fondness extended to Cordelia, only to a lesser extent. She even considered both of the Vampires as members of her family, despite her early misgivings about Angel. The fact that Spike, Angel, Willow, Buffy, and Giles himself seemed to trust Victoria meant that the older woman was inclined to extend her own trust to the younger Vampire.

Giles glanced sideways at Joyce and smiled, taking her hand in his and squeezing gently. They both watched as the children, and the vampires, chatted about various locations around the world. Giles felt himself relaxing as he watched, and revelled in the closeness he felt to everyone else in the room. Wether he had planned on it or not, the Scooby gang, in its entirety, had become his family, and nothing would change that fact.

BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS

Victoria changed into her pyjamas silently, grinning to herself as she thought of how much fun Angel and Spike would be having as they undressed. Both Willow and Buffy were going to stay the night, and each couple had been last seen making for their own bedroom at a rapid pace. Victoria had caught Giles' eyes, and had started laughing. Giles had chuckled, before coughing and blushing deep red, taking of his glasses to polish them. Victoria snorted at the memory, and sat down on her bed, flopping backwards on her pillows. She felt a strong sense of Déjà vu, and realised that once again, she was the fifth wheel. Just over one hundred years ago, it had been the same, Angelus in one room with Darla, and Spike in another room with Dru, with her by herself. Some things never changed when she was with her family.

Victoria scowled to herself, and rolled over on the bed, until she sat up on the edge. She put her elbows on her knees and leant forward, cupping her chin in one hand. She missed the others, her gang. It had been days since she had contacted them, the day before she arrived in Sunnydale. They would probably be worried. She decided that tomorrow she would ring them, and tell them that she was okay. She'd probably have to tell them that she wouldn't be back for another month or two, but she knew they'd be able to cope. As a united front, they would be able to stop pretty much anything. Well, Victoria winced to herself, they'd be able to temporarily stop it for long enough for her to get there.

Pushing aside her worries about her gang, though they still lingered at the back of her mind, Victoria got to her feet and crossed the room to where her bag was sitting. She began to sort through it, until she found a small, thin hard cover book, tucked in between the clothing and other things she had tucked in there. Victoria glanced around the room, ensuring that there was no one else in there with her, although she could hear nothing, except for Buffy's heartbeat in the next room, and the occasional muffled groan. Satisfied that she was alone, she walked back to her bed and sat on the edge, opening the book up to its front page. Victoria carefully withdrew the envelope hidden in the book, and then set the book aside, fingering the unsealed envelope carefully, before opening it. Reaching inside, she withdrew a photo, and looked at it, a smile crossing her face.

"I miss you, my love," she whispered.

**A.N. Hi, sorry this chapter is so short, but I was having trouble thinking of what else I could add. ****Also, apologies that this chapter is a bit late, as I had a couple of problems uploading it. Anyway, what do you think? Reviews are excellent. The next chapter will be up on Friday, barring any major disasters. I hope it wasn't too OOC. **

**R.W.**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Victoria grinned as she stepped down the stairs to the foyer, having spotted Buffy and Willow in the kitchen.

"Morning" she greeted them.

"Hey, did you sleep well?" Willow asked. Buffy blushed, obviously knowing that Victoria would have been able to hear her and Angel the previous night.

"Yeah, It was fine, thanks Willow. Where are Angel and Spike?"

"In the gym having a spar." Buffy replied, recovering from her embarrassment. If Victoria wasn't going to bring it up, then she wouldn't either. Victoria smiled.

"And they're down there by themselves? You two and Giles are trusting them not to stake each other?"

"Giles is supervising, we're not that silly."Willow laughed. Buffy and Victoria joined in.

"You want some breakfast?" Buffy asked.

"I can get it, just tell me where, um, things are kept."

"Angel and Spike keep their mugs in that cupboard," Buffy pointed, understanding Victoria's need to regain some independence.

Victoria opened the right cupboard and paused.

"They don't have favourites, do they, which they'll get territorial over?"

"No, both of their mugs are in the sink, so you can choose any. Why would it matter? I don't think they'd mind if you used one of their mugs."

Victoria snorted and chose a mug and closed the cupboard door. When she turned to face Buffy and Willow, she was grinning.

"I don't know, Angelus was known for chucking hissy fits at Spike for lesser things, like using his pen. Man, Spike's butt got kicked that day."

"Okay, I get we're your coming from now," Willow admitted, though she and Buffy were grinning at the image of Angelus kicking Spike's butt.

"Blood's in the fridge, it's ordered by expiry date."

"Okay, that's the same system I use at home," Victoria opened up the fridge and bent down to see the neat rows of blood. She grabbed one of the front row ones, having checked that that was the one who had the closest use by date, before she vamped and cut the bag open with her teeth. She didn't turn back to face Buffy until she'd closed the fridge door, and returned to her human features, checking that she hadn't gotten blood on her face.

Buffy and Willow watched as the female vampire poured the blood into the mug and carried it to the microwave. Victoria examined it for a few seconds, before opening the door and setting the mug inside, before closing the microwave and setting the time.

"So, what do you girls usually do on weekends?"

"Research, Patrol, watch movies or go shopping in our free time."

"Sounds fun" Victoria grinned, retrieving her now warm mug of blood.

"What about you? What do you do when you're not busy hunting demons?" Willow asked, having not been exposed to many people who did what the Scooby Gang did, other than Angel's old LA gang.

"Reading, watching movies, talking, that's really it. I get kept pretty busy cooking for the gang most nights, but it's okay though. The other's do the cleaning for me."

"I can't imagine vampire's cooking. Can you imagine Angel or Spike wearing an apron and a chef's hat?" Buffy giggled, and Willow dissolved into fits of laughter. Victoria chuckled as she sipped on her mug.

Once she had finished her breakfast, Victoria sat down with Buffy and Willow and was reading the newspaper when Angel and Spike entered the kitchen.

"Hey" Willow greeted the two vampires.

"Who won?" Buffy asked, grinning.

"I did" both Angel and Spike said at the same time, before glaring at one another. Buffy rolled her eyes at Willow and Victoria.

"That's what they always say" Willow giggled. Victoria grinned.

"Typical males"

Buffy and Willow laughed, and Angel and Spike turned their gaze to Victoria, who smiled innocently.

"How long have you been up for, Queenie?" Spike asked.

"A while, I've had breakfast, and I'm just reading the paper now, catching up on the local news." Victoria shrugged

Angel nodded, and got himself a mug of Blood, hungry after his spar with Spike. He got one for Spike as well, knowing the younger vampire would feel the same way. As Angel and Spike began their drinks, Giles entered the Kitchen.

"Ah, here you all are. What do you have planned for this afternoon?"

"Nothing really for me, Giles." Buffy spoke up

"Me neither." Willow added. Victoria just shrugged. Giles nodded.

"Well, I'm going to go and see Joyce, we'll be out of touch for the afternoon, but we will be here at six o'clock for a research session. Xander and Cordelia are coming as well, they're bringing dinner. "

"Okay Giles, have fun." Buffy said as the watcher left the Kitchen.

"Hey Victoria, can I talk to you fir a bit?" Angel asked. Victoria nodded.

"Yeah, sure." She grinned, following Angel out of the Kitchen. Angel led her up the stairs to the second floor, and stood in the passageway, facing Victoria.

"First of all, I want to say that I think what you did last night was brave. Telling a Slayer and a Watcher everything, it showed how courageous you are."

"Or stupid I am. There was a couple of times when I thought I was going to get staked."

"I don't know, they've accepted Angelus with a soul, and William the Bloody with a Chip, so I thought you'd be fine. Besides, what you told them, it was nothing worse than what Spike or I have done over the years."

"I don't know, I think some of them know that there was stuff that I didn't tell them." Victoria said cringing.

"But you obviously still feel remorse and guilt for these things, that's the important thing. Yes you've done it, and you didn't tell Buffy and the others, but you know that you know that you did the wrong thing, and you've acknowledged that fact." Angel counselled. Victoria nodded thoughtfully.

"I guess so. Now, you said firstly, was there something else you wanted to talk to me about?"

Er, yes, there was." Angel suddenly felt very awkward. Victoria grinned. She swore that if Angel wasn't a vampire, he'd be blushing.

"C'mon, Angel, spit it out." Victoria smiled encouragingly.

"Did you hear Buffy and I, er, in bed last night?" angel asked. Victoria cringed.

"Um, yeah, I did. Wasn't too bad, it brought back a lot of memories, you know, of being in the room beside yours when you were with Darla or Dru."

"Er, yeah, I thought you would have heard. How have you been feeling? You look a lot stronger, you you're moving around fine." Angel smiled, hoping Victoria hadn't noticed the change in subject.

"Yeah, I feel great, completely back to normal, or close enough to normal anyway." Victoria smiled, seeing through Angel's subject change

"That's good. I was wondering, since you were feeling better, if you'd want to change room, you know, one that's more private. That's if you were planning on staying, of course."

"Well, I really should call the others and tell them what I'm doing, and ask if they need me, but I think I'll be right to stay for a couple of months, if it's okay with you." Victoria smiled.

"Good, follow me." Angel beckoned and led Victoria down the hallway toward his room, before taking a side corridor, and following it a little way, until they reached a doorway. Angel stopped, and gently turned the doorknob, pushing the door open, and following Victoria into the room.

It was a large room, with a fireplace that was crackling away merrily. A large, four poster bed, with blood red drapes was positioned in the room, as well as a couch that was in front of the fire. There was window opposite from the door, though their were heavy curtains covering it. Along the same side of the room as the door, the wall was lined with bookcases, all empty. Victoria smiled. The room was perfect. She turned to face Angel.

"It's perfect, thank you, Sire." She smiled, hugging Angel, who responded, holding the smaller vampire close to his chest. He led her further into the room. "

"There's a wardrobe in there," he pointed at a doorway, "and a bathroom through there," he pointed at another doorway, beside the first.

"It's wonderful" Victoria smiled up at Angel, who smiled back.

Angel was quite glad Victoria liked the room. During the early part of their morning spar, Angel and Spike had discussed which room Victoria would most like, and they had agreed on this one. Angel, Spike and Giles had then come up, and quickly cleaned up a bit, before lighting the fire and coming back down. Angel was certain that Giles had cheated and used magic, but he couldn't say for certain.

"I'll leave you to settle in. Buffy and Willow might come up and help."

"Okay, thanks again Angel."

"Don't mention it, little one. I've gotta look after you, you're my baby." Angel ruffled Victoria's hair and turned to leave.

"As always, Daddy." Victoria giggled as Angel left. The moment her Sire was out of Sight. Victoria squealed, launching herself across the room, flinging herself down on the bed in an explosion of dust. Victoria laughed, coughing as she inhaled some dust.

"I think they missed a bit in their cleaning" she giggled to herself, before flopping back down again with a contented sigh.

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"Hey, nice room" Buffy commented as she and Willow entered the room Angel had directed them to. Victoria sat up on her bed, dust clinging to her hair.

"Yeah, it is nice, isn't it?" Victoria climbed off the bed, approaching the Witch and the Slayer.

"Hey, we were wondering if you'd like to go down to the work out room, you know, do some sparring, spend some time together, that kind of thing." Buffy invited. Victoria grinned.

"Sounds great. Lead the way."

Buffy, Willow and Victoria went down to the basement, and Victoria immediately noticed that their were a couple of manikins lines up along the far wall that hadn't been there when she'd sparred with Spike. Giles was sitting in a chair, reading a book, and he jumped slightly when Buffy spoke.

"Hey Giles, I'm here for my next session. What am I doing today?"

"Buffy, what do you think you need to work on, I'm quite sure you know now what areas you need to practise on without me telling you. Besides, I have not gone with you on patrol all week."

"Okay then, I'm going to go with sword fighting practise. What are you two going to do?"

"Crossbow, last time I was attacked, my aim was a little off, and because I was already tired after that research session, I didn't want to use magic."

"I'll help Willow, if it's okay with you Buffy, I don't think that I'm up for a sword fight against a slayer quite yet."

Buffy grinned, and nodded, "Okay then. C'mon Giles."

Willow and Victoria watched as the Slayer led Giles over to a storage cabinet, opening it to reveal a vast array of weaponry. Both Buffy and Giles pulled out swords, before heading to the centre of the room. Willow and Victoria sat down and watched as the pair practiced the swords. Victoria watched carefully, surprised at the Slayer's amount of skill, and even very impressed by the skill demonstrated by the Watcher, who obviously, despite his tweed fetish, age, and bookish nature, was quite fit, and was very skilled with the sword. After a while, the pair parted, puffing and panting from the exertion of the fight.

"You guys are really good." Victoria commented. Giles blushed at the praise.

"Well, er, yes. Lots of practise."

"Plus lessons with Angel, since he and Giles are the ones who know the most about sword fighting." Buffy added, wiping sweat from her eyes, "You want to have a go?"

"Well, okay, I guess that's fine" Victoria shrugged, hoping that she would go alright. She felt strong, so she should go alright. Victoria approached the pair, and Giles passed her the sword he had used, before sitting down in Victoria's seat beside Willow.

Victoria felt the weight of the sword, swinging it through the air a couple of times, before she took her position across from Buffy and assumed a defensive pose, waiting for Buffy to attack, which she did quickly. Victoria let her instincts go, blocking Buffy's every blow, without giving much foot room, before she switched to an more offensive style of fighting, forcing Buffy to make the blocks. The Vampire and the slayer were easily matched, neither one overly taxed by trying to keep up with the other. Giles and Willow watched, Giles making small comments to Willow about what both of them were doing well.

In the end, Victoria saw her opening, and took it, flicking her sword hard and fast at the tip of Buffy's ,causing the Slayer's sword to be forced from her grasp. It landed safely a few feet away from them.

"Then you go for the kill" Victoria solemnly said, carefully and briefly touching the sword to Buffy's neck, before lowering it, and offering Buffy her hand to shake.

"That was amazing," Willow gushed, "You guys so knew what you were doing."

"I agree with Willow, quite impressive. Both of your techniques were quite impressive. I trust you learnt from Angelus, Victoria?"

"No, I only picked up this when I decided to become a demon hunter, and realised that I would need to be able to use more than a bow and a quiver of arrows. Angelus avoided teaching me how to fight as much as possible. Didn't want to risk his little one getting hurt." Victoria laughed.

"So you guys are done with the swords, now?" Willow asked.

"Yes, Why?" Giles said as he took both swords, and went to go and find something to polish them with.

"Oh, just so I can practice with the crossbow, I don't like doing it when you guys are practicing, just in case I go wide."

"Fair enough, Buffy conceded, as Willow walked to the weapons cabinet and pulled out her favourite crossbow, as well as one for Victoria.

"Buffy, you want one?" she called over her shoulder.

"Yes thanks Willow." Buffy called back. Willow brought over the crossbows, and handed them out, as well as a handful of crossbow bolts. The three walked towards the targets, and stopped at a line of masking tape on the floor, marking where they needed to stand. Victoria examined the crossbow, recognising it as a similar model to what her gang used. She loaded it, and aimed at the target, narrowing her eyes.

"Ready?" asked Buffy.

"Yep" Victoria said.

"I'm good" Chimed Willow.

"On my mark, Three, two, One, Fire." The three girls fired the crossbows in unison, and Victoria smiled as her crossbow bolt landed right where she planned for it to.

Right where the Dummies chest, where his heart would've been if it had been a vampire.

"Damn, Girl is there anything you can't do." Buffy grinned, high fiving Victoria.

Victoria hesitated, "I don't know, but I've been told that I'm a hopeless dancer."

**A.N. Here is the latest chapter. I'm sorry that we're back to nothingness chapters, but I think it's important to show that the gang still accept Victoria even after everything she has done. More of Victoria's Secrets will be revealed in a future chapter. **

**Keep the reviews coming.**

**R.W. **


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"Angel, can I go patrolling with you guys tonight?" Victoria asked as the rest of the gang got ready to go out patrolling that night.

"No, not tonight. You aren't ready." Angel shook his head

"Angel, she so kicked butt downstairs this afternoon." Buffy chimed in.

"Please Angel, I've been cooped up for so long, I need to go outside." Victoria pleaded

"You aren't going; I don't want to risk you getting hurt. They'll be plenty of other opportunities for you to come." Angel was adamant.

"An-gel, I'll be good, I'll stay with someone else at all times, and I promise I won't do anything stupid." Victoria shot Angel her puppy dog eyes look, which had usually worked before on Angelus, and even Spike.

"Victoria, you're not ready, not for Sunnydale. Stay here." Angel let a hint of growl into his voice, and Victoria got the message, deflating as she stepped back into the foyer while the others left to go patrolling. Spike shot her a sympathetic look, but Victoria shook her head at him.

"Do remember to report anything unusual you see to me." Giles called to the group, before closing the door. Victoria winced, the large wooden doors sounding like prison gates to her.

Giles, and Joyce, who had both stayed behind as usual, exchanged glances as the small vampire turned her back on the door and walked towards the stairs, obviously going back to her room, probably to sulk or brood.

Joyce shot Giles a questioning look, and Giles glanced at Victoria's back, shoulders slumped in dejection, before nodding back at Joyce.

"Victoria, dear." Joyce called. Victoria turned around, hoping that there was some job that needed doing, something that would make her feel useful.

"Rupert and I were just going to put on a movie and have something hot to drink. Would you like to join us?"

"Oh, it's alright, Mrs. Summers, I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Oh, you wouldn't be. Usually Xander and Cordelia stay and join us when it's a quiet night of patrol, but tonight they had to go home early. It's alright, dear."

Victoria bit her lip shyly, "Spike did say that your hot chocolate with the little marshmallows was to die for this afternoon."

"Lovely. Rupert, Why don't you go and put the movie we had picked on, and I'll make the drinks."

Giles nodded and went into the living room, where the TV was, and Victoria hurried down the stairs to help Joyce in the kitchen. When they entered the living room, Victoria grinned, the credits for Pirates of the Caribbean playing on screen.

"Oh, man, this is one of my favourites." She grinned, sitting on one of the couches, as Giles was already on the other. Joyce sat beside the watcher, and gave him his cup of tea, and they snuggled together to watch the movie. Victoria grinned at their antics, before sipping her drink, poling at the marshmallows with her spoon. Chocolaty goodness flowed over her tongue as she drank, and she moaned.

"Yum" she murmured.

"Glad you like it, my dear." Joyce smiled.

Victoria swore she would have blushed if she could've. Instead, she settled herself with toeing her shoes off and curling her legs beneath her as she watched the movie.

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The cemeteries of Sunnydale were darkened and gloomy as Angel, Buffy, Willow and Spike walked through, weaving between the rows upon rows of stone graves. It was proving to be a busy night, with five minions dusted already, and they'd only gotten half way though their standard patrol route through all of Sunnydale's cemeteries. They walked in pairs, Buffy and Angel leading, hands clasped together, Willow and Spike behind, Spike's arm around Willow's shoulders as he whispered into her ear and made her giggle.

"Why didn't you let Victoria come? Xander and Cordy and Giles come sometimes, even mom, and they aren't hurt" Buffy asked. Angel paused, contemplating his answer.

"With Victoria, it was always Angelus' goal to keep her away from anything he perceived as dangerous. The whole time she was with me, she never hunted alone; she was always accompanied with at least a senior minion, if I wasn't there, or towards the end, she and Spike used to go hunting together sometimes. That's one of the main things that amazed me about the fact she's still undead, she's made it so far after being completely shelter for the first Nineteen years. Some things, like wanting to protect her as much as possible, have carried over from Angelus to me. If she wasn't souled, then it would be different, but the way things are, I still want, still need, to protect her from anything that might hurt her." Angel spoke softly, and Buffy could see that it was paining him to reflect on Victoria's early years, when she and Angelus were roaming together.

"If she wasn't souled, would you kill her?" Buffy asked, made curious by Angel's words.

"If she was a threat to you or any of the others, then maybe. I don't know." Angel admitted.

They walked out of the cemetery, and strode down the street, eyes alert for anything of the undead or demon persuasion. They were halfway through the next cemetery when both of the vampire's heard voices chanting in a demonic language.

"What the bloody hell?" Spike whispered as his head whipped around towards the noise.

"What is it?" Buffy asked, clasping hold of Angel's arm.

"Chanting in a demonic language, over there," Angel whispered, pointing.

"Is it a spell?" Willow asked as they crept closer. Spike hesitated before nodding.

"Sounds like it."

They crept trough the bushes, until they found the source of the chanting.

"What the hell?" Spike murmured.

Seven demons, about Buffy's height, wearing long, dark red cloaks with hoods; stood around a small fire. They had their arms raised, and the Scoobies could see the mottled pale blue colour their skin was in the firelight.

As they watched, one of the demons through a powder into the fire; causing it to flare and spark. The flames turned a bright green; and leapt high into the sky, before it began to quickly die. The demons lowered their arms, obviously having finished the spell. Buffy drew a knife from her belt and leapt from their hiding place, Angel and Spike close behind. Willow stood up and fired her crossbow, remembering her practise that very afternoon with Buffy and Victoria. The crossbow bolt thudded home into the chest of one of the demons, and it screamed, a terrible, high pitched noise that made them all move to cover their ears. The screaming demon then disintegrated into nothing, it's cloak dropping to the ground. Buffy plunged her knife into one of the demons' chest, and it too disintegrated. Angel and Spike were fighting back to back against four, and used stakes to dispatch three of them. The remaining two spun in the air, disappearing from view, taking their cloaks with them. The Scoobies looked at each other.

"What the hell were they?" Spike asked, and Buffy shrugged.

"I don't know, they weren't too keen to stick around much though." The slayer muttered.

"At least we've got something to research tomorrow," Willow piped up cheerfully, trying to be optimistic. Spike groaned.

"Joy" he murmured. Willow smacked him in the arm as Angel gathered up the cloaks left behind. Willow bent to investigate the smoking remains of the fire.

"I've never seen anything like this" she told the others, sliding her bag off her arm, and pulling out a small vial, which she carefully dipped into the ashes, before corking it, and standing up, showing the others the ash. It was glittering slightly, and was green in colour, though not as bright as the fire had been.

"I say we take this to Giles" Spike said as he examined the contents of the vial.

"We still need to finish the patrol, though" Buffy reminded them.

"I'm sure the hour that it will take up to finish patrol isn't going to make any difference, in the long run. Between all of us, we'll find out what this is quickly enough." Willow reasoned. The two vampires nodded in agreement, and the group moved on, keeping doubly alert for any other strange demons that they might happen across.

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Angel led the way um the front steps to the mansion, pushing the front door open, and striding into the foyer, Buffy, Spike, and Willow. Noticing that the living room light was on, the group walked towards it, only to stop in the walkway. Giles and Joyce were lying on one of the couches together, sound asleep, while Victoria was curled on one of the other couches, also asleep, a blanket draped over her body. Buffy raised one of her eyebrows in a Spike worthy gesture.

"Well, this is new." Willow commented, breaking the silence. Spike was smirking, his eyes locked on the younger vampire.

"Aww, little baby Victoria's almost sucking her thumb" he cooed, only to be smacked in the back of the head, first by Willow, then by Angel, and lastly by Buffy.

"Little baby Spikey's unbeating heart can suck on one of my stakes if he doesn't shut up soon." Victoria grumbled; obviously awaken by Spike's comment. She sleepily raised her head, looking at the gang with bleary eyes.

"How was patrol?" she asked, stretching her arms out and yawning.

"Found a group of demons doing some ritual in one of the cemeteries, and we staked ten fledges." Buffy reported

"So, normal night on the hellmouth?" Victoria asked.

Buffy shook her head; "the demon thing is kind of weird. They kind of gave me a wiggins."

Across the room, Giles groaned and stirred, obviously waking up. Inadvertently, he woke Joyce up. The two parental figures of the entire group looked sleepily across the room at the others. Angel, Spike, Willow, and Buffy standing in the doorway, Victoria sitting up on the couch, still wrapped in the blanket Joyce had draped over the sleeping vampire when she'd picked up Victoria's empty hot chocolate mug.

"Oh, you're back. Did you see anything interesting during your patrol?" Giles asked as he sat up, readjusting his glasses. Joyce sat up too, and Victoria stretched a little more, before sitting up. Spike smirked, walking over to her and ruffling her hair, already mussed from her sleep on the couch. Victoria scowled at him and smacked his hand away.

"Don't be a Pratt, William."

"I can't help it, it's in my blood." Spike smirked. Victoria paused for a moment, and then they both cracked up laughing. Angel groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Guys, refocusing on the issue at hand, meaning demons doing ritual." Buffy said. Giles got up off the couch and approached the group. Willow handed him the vial of ash she had collected.

"They had a fire, and it had bright green flames. At the end of the ritual, the flames soared up really high, before they completely died. I collected this from the ashes." Willow said. Giles raised the vial to his eyes, looking closely at the ash.

"What's the matter Rupes?" Spike asked, seeing the look of fear cross the watcher's face.

"I do believe we may have a slight problem." Giles said, addressing the rest of the group.

**A.N. When does the Sunnydale gang not have a 'slight problem?' Haha. Here's this weeks update. Next chapter will have some action, because I've gotten good feedback about action filled chapters. I hope you liked the fluffy bits of this chapter. **

**Reviews are always good.**

**R.W. **


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Victoria returned to her room in the early hours of the morning, still puzzling over the news Giles had given the group. The demons that Angel and the others had encountered, named Bantha demons, were not overly dangerous, but it was the ritual they had been performing that had worried the Watcher. It had been to summon a large, scaly demon, called a Piranha Demon. As large as a house, they were notoriously difficult to kill, and caused havoc, chaos, and widespread death and destruction. Despite their size, they were remarkably quick, and their thick, scaly hide was difficult to penetrate with most weapons.

Giles had discovered that their was a 24 hour time lapse in between the conducting of the ritual and the arrival of the Piranha Demon, so he had told the group to go and get a good nights rest, so they could research methods to kill it. Victoria, however, wasn't overly tired; thanks to her hour long nap earlier that evening. She had gone up to her new room and began to explore. She glanced out the window, smiling when she realised that her window opened out onto a little balcony which looked out over the sprawling backyard of the mansion, with a large grassy space, which turned into shrubs and trees that backed onto what looked to be a wood. Victoria went out onto her balcony, glancing around. Not far from her balcony was a tall tree. Victoria's inner demon smirked, and Victoria had to admit that, if she ever needed, or just wanted to get out of the house one night, without anyone knowing, except perhaps Angel, since he'd probably sense it if she was gone, the tree would be the perfect way. The balcony was just that little bit too far off the ground for Victoria to feel comfortable about jumping off of it, after all.

Victoria went back through her window, closing it behind her, and making sure the thick curtains completely covered the glass. She crossed the room to her bathroom and pushed the door open. It had obviously been cleaned using magic, as she could smell the residual magic in the air and on everything in the bathroom. It was a large bathroom, considering it was attached to a bedroom, and obviously meant to be a private bathroom. But then, Victoria considered, Angelus had always been known to lavish himself and his clan in luxury, especially when it came to housing and clothing. Even back when she'd first been changed, Victoria had known enough about Men to know that it was really a plot to remind everyone, human and demon alike, of the 'family's' status. Obviously, soul or no soul, things didn't change.

Victoria went back into the main room and walked over to the large bed, which she had tossed her bag onto. She pulled out hey pyjamas and put them on the bed, before she sorted through the rest of the clothes in the bag, putting the dirty ones in while pile, and the clean, neatly folded ones in another. Then, she fished around in the bottom of her bag and pulled out one of her bow and quivers. She's been forced to forgo her usual longbow, because it would not have fitted in her bag, but her shorter, recurve style bow, tucked safely in its storage tube, had fitted perfectly. Although she'd trained and excelled with many weapons over the years, archery still remained her preferred form of defence. She put the weapon down, and returned her focus to her clothing.

Victoria crossed the room and began to put her clean clothes away in the wardrobe, and in the chest of drawers. Victoria frowned, noticing that she was running low on clean clothes. She hadn't grabbed much when she had left her home, knowing that she wouldn't be able to carry much on the motorbike, and that it was possible that she would not be returning to her home.

Her mind flew back to the phone call she had made to the remaining members of the gang. She had called them, smiling as she though of what their reaction to her news, both good and bad would be. Good news, that she was fine, and had reunited with her estranged Sire and Spike, bad that she was planning on staying in Sunnydale for a few months. They had taken the news surprisingly well. Firstly she had contacted her friends in San Francesco, Maddie, the werewolf, and David, the former watcher who had immediately offered to return to Victoria's house in Oakfield, so the group would be able to function as well as possible. Victoria had thanked them, and told them about what she had been up to. David, it turned out, knew Giles, although Giles was ten years older than him. Once she had finished talking to her friend, she had passed the phone to Giles, allowing his and David to catch up. Once they were done, she had called the two demons left up in Oakfield. Both Mary and Phil, as they were more commonly known, as their real names where much too long and difficult to pronounce, were happy to hear that she was safe. Well, Mary was anyway, Victoria couldn't tell with Phil. He was difficult to read at the best of times, especially when they were talking on the phone to one another.

Returning to the present, Victoria carried her pyjamas into the bathroom, and had a hot shower, changing into her pyjamas before going back into her room. She dried her hair off, before she slid beneath the covers, snuggling down into the soft bedding. Her eyes slid closed as she quickly fell asleep.

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Victoria stretched slowly as she woke up, glancing at her watch to check the time. It was eleven o'clock, Victoria's usual waking up time from before the curse. She got up and hurriedly dressed, scurrying down to the kitchen library, where, predictably, the rest of the gang were sitting.

"Need some help?" Victoria asked when Giles looked up at her after she made a noise.

"Oh, yes. Grab a book," the Watcher instructed

"Pull up a chair, make yourself comfy" Xander added, grinning at the younger vampire.

"Thanks" Victoria picked up a book and began to read, the room falling silent except for Willow tapping on the keys of the computer, and the turning of pages. Victoria could feel hr stomach complaining about her skipping breakfast, but she blocked it out, focusing intently on the task at hand. Menial things like eating could be delayed when there was a large demon due to rise in a few hours.

Angel glanced sideways at Victoria from where he sat beside Buffy, a slight frown on his face. Victoria smiled back at him, before refocusing on the thick book she was reading, searching for any information on the Piranha demon, specifically, how to kill it.

By the time that Joyce, Cordelia, Xander and Willow went to make up some grilled cheese sandwiches for the gang, they knew very little more about the demon. It's skin ward scaly, and difficult to penetrate. Its eyesight was on par with vampires, though its hearing was very poorly developed. Its claws were very sharp, as were its teeth. Despite all of this information, there was very little on how to kill it, much to Buffy's disgust.

"How hard can it be to kill this thing?" she asked as the group ate. Angel consolingly rubbed her shoulder.

"We'll work it out Buffster" Xander said supported.

"We always do" Willow added from where she sat beside Spike.

"Yeah, it's what we Scoobies do. Research how to kill demons, then we go out and kill them." Cordelia chirped up, wrapping her arm around Xander's shoulders.

"Exactly" Spike grinned, sipping from his mug of warmed blood that Willow had brought out from the kitchen for him. Victoria and Angel had mugs of sustenance as well. Victoria smiled to herself, though she kept her face downturned. The Scooby Gang were so united and well, close. They had each other's back, even when there wasn't any immediate danger; they looked out for each other. Even though they came from completely different backgrounds; Slayer, Witch, Watcher, Mother, Bricklayer, Cheerleader, Vampire, they had each other's back.

Victoria suddenly felt honoured to be included to their midst.

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Eventually it was Cordelia that made the breakthrough. She gave an excited squeal as she lowered the book she had been reading.

"I think I've found it. A way we can kill this thing. I hope it doesn't explode though, it has blue blood, and that would stain so badly. I am so going to get changed before we go after this thing. This shirt will look horrible with blue demon blood stains on it, and no sort of demon blood looks good on these shoes."

"Cordelia, could you perhaps tell us how exactly to kill it before we start worrying about how to get its blood out of our clothes?" Giles asked, polishing his glasses.

"Oh, right. Apparently its skin is really soft underneath its arms, and may be pierced by a sharp weapon. The demon's heart is located on his left side, and is large, so basically, stab the demon under the arm on the left side with a sharp weapon, and he dies." Cordy read.

"What kind of weapon would you think be effective, Buffy?" Giles asked the grinning slayer.

"A sword, a javelin, an axe, a knife, they'd all work." Buffy said. Angel and Spike nodded.

"I agree. We have two hours until the demon rises. I suggest we use this time to prepare ourselves." Giles said.

"And by that you mean going home and changing into something that it doesn't matter if demon blood gets on it, right?" Cordy asked. Giles rolled his eyes.

"Yes Cordelia; that is what I meant. Also, have something to eat."

"Bye Giles" Cordy flew out the door, dragging Xander along behind her.

"I've gotta go too" Buffy grinned, kissing Angel, before following Cordelia and Xander out the door.

Joyce rolled her eyes, laughing, "Ah, you can take the girl out of LA, but you can't take LA out of the girl."

Spike and Willow laughed, and Victoria grinned, putting the book she was holding down. Angel shook his head.

"Rupert, do you want some help getting weapons together?" he asked. Giles nodded, and the pair left the library, heading down to the basement training room, where the weapons were stored. Joyce watched the pair go; before getting up, picking up the plates that had been left scattered around the tables from lunch. Victoria got up and gathered the mugs, following the human woman into the kitchen, where Joyce washed and Victoria dried. Spike and Willow began to tidy up the books that had been left strewn around tables. By the time the library was back in its tidy state, Giles and Angel had returned.

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Victoria watched as the gang began to gather up their weapons in preparation for going to slay the Piranha Demon. She stood on the edge of the group, watching, and waiting for Angel to give her instructions, falling into an old habit left over from the 'Angelus days'.

Angel looked at Victoria, standing at the edge of the group, watching him and waiting for any form of instruction, and inwardly cringed, knowing that she had regressed back into the habit that Angelus had encouraged. As Buffy and Spike headed for the main door, followed by Willow, Giles, Joyce, Cordelia and Xander, he walked over to Victoria.

"I want you to stay here, where it's safe." He told her. Hurt flooded into Victoria's eyes.

"But, Angel, I'm ready, I know I am."

"It's too big a risk. Stay here."

"I've been fighting against demons for the last fifteen years, Angel. That's longer than what Spike and Buffy, and Willow and the others have been doing it for.

"But I've been fighting for longer than you have, and I am your sire. I don't want you getting hurt. Stay here." Angel growled low, letting a hint of Angelus into his voice. He turned his back on his childe and followed the others out of the house, closing the door loudly behind them. Victoria scowled at her sire's retreating back.

"Sure, I'll stay, just like you did." She growled, golden flecks appearing in her eyes, though no one was there to see it. She was alone in the house.

**A.N. Sorry, I miscalculated. The actions going to be in the next chapter (My bad.) Angel is being kind of annoying, but I could so picture him being overprotective of his childre. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter.**

**Just a side note, the rating of this story will be going up due to some adult themes that will be referenced in a future chapter.**

**R.W. **


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Victoria ran up the stairs to her room, slamming the door closed behind her, even though she knew there was no one else in the house, which made the act futile, and more than a little childish. She was angry enough, though, that she really didn't care. She crossed the room to her bag, pulling it aside to reveal her recurve bow and its quiver of arrows. She strung the bow quickly, pulling the string taut, checking its tension and that the bow was not damaged during the long ride from Oakfield to Sunnydale. Satisfied, she pulled her long leather duster around her shoulders, sliding her arms down the sleaves. She pulled her dark hair out of it's messy ponytail and pulled it back tightly into a tighter one, making sure that there was no way her hair could fall into her eyes. She didn't need her vision to compromised, not today.

Victoria bent and tightened the laces on her boots, knowing that she would need to be stealthy in order to be able to avoid Angel becoming aware that she was following the gang. She picked up her quiver of arrows, counting how many she had. There were twelve. She made a mental note of that, before she slung the quiver over her shoulder, tightening the straps so that they were tight. She picked up her bow, and slid it into her quiver, reaching over her shoulder to make sure that it was secure. Victoria stretched her arms and legs, calming and centring herself, trying to push her anger at Angel and his over protectiveness to the back of her mind.

Feeling calm, or at least, calmer than what she was, Victoria picked up a couple of her stakes, and slid them into her belt, before moving towards the window. She pushed it open, stepping carefully out onto her balcony, glancing around at the darkened backyard of the mansion. Her senses were on overdrive as she climbed over the balcony railing, and stepped onto one of the tree branches. Victoria climbed down the tree, before she glanced around the yard, letting her senses go as she locked onto her sire. She grinned, before running off into the night.

BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS

It didn't take long for Angel, Buffy, and the rest of the Scoobies to get to the same place that they had seen the Bantha demons. The remains of the fire were still there, the ashes still the same green colour. Glancing at their watches, they settled down to wait. Angel rolled his eyes and groaned when he saw Spike approaching him.

"Angel, we need to talk."

"Spike, we're about to face a dangerous demon, now is not the best time."

"Angel, don't be a poof, this is important." Spike growled his voice deadly serious. Angel sighed and walked away from the others so they were out of earshot.

"If you keep saying no to Victoria, she'll hate you, Peaches. You're pushing her away. She is ready, and if you don't start letting her come out with us, she'll go out alone, and be even more likely to end up hurt or dusted. Remember, she's been living by her own rules for the last hundred years or so, she hasn't had to obey rules, or listen to what anyone else has to say." Spike said. Angel sighed, and looked at his grandchilde.

"I know, Spike, but I can't, I can't let her get involved with this. It's like I go to say the words, and there is a lump in my throat and I can't talk."

"Angel, like she said earlier, she's been fighting demons and vampires for fifteen years. Fifteen years ago, you were living in alleyways and sewers feeding off rats and sulking, Buffy was running around in pigtails, Willow, Cordy and Xander were playing in sandboxes, I was living of two people a day and looking after Dru, and Giles was living with his head in a book, not that that's changed. What I mean is, by rights, she is the most experienced fighter out of all of us, against demons anyway. You should give her a chance."

"I know." Angel admitted.

"Angel, Spike, get over here. Now." Buffy yelled. They two vampires whipped around, jaws dropping simultaneously as the ground beneath the circle of Ashes cracked open, forcing the Scooby gang to back away as the earth seemed to crack open until there was a gaping whole in the ground, a bright green light shining from it. A large hand reached up from inside the hole, latching onto the side of the hole, followed by a second. The Piranha demon hauled itself out of the gaping hole in the ground, letting out a low roar.

The two vampires ran back to the group, standing beside their respective girlfriends as the rest of the gang raised their weapons. The demon looked down at them, and snorted, using his hand as a club to know Giles, and Xander to the ground. Giles hit his head on a gravestone and slumped to the ground, unconscious, while Xander groaned, winded.

Buffy threw her sword up at the demon, aiming for its vulnerable side, but the demon deflected the blow with its arm, knocking the sword away, with the weapon only leaving a very shallow cut on its arm.

"Damn" Buffy cursed as the demon swiped again, this time knocking Spike, Joyce, and Cordelia. Willow ran to Spike's side and helped him back up, while Cordelia and Joyce scrambled back fearfully. Xander got to his feet and staggered over to them, looking up at the demon's face.

"What do we do?" he asked Cordelia.

"I don't know, Xander. This is Buffy, Angel, and Spike's show. He's too fast for us."

"Agreed," Xander said as the demon swiped at the others, wincing as Spike pulled Willow back as she narrowly avoided getting scratched.

BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS

Victoria hurried through the cemetery, stakes drawn, and senses alert. She had encountered two vampires, both newly risen. They had taken her no time to dust, and now she was following her sire's trail. She crested a large hill, and let her jaw drop. She could see the large Piranha demon, standing over the gaping hole in the ground that it had obviously crawled out off. She winced as the demon swiped at Cordelia and Joyce, knocking them down. She could see Giles sprawled on the ground beside a tombstone. She hoped he was only unconscious; she rather liked the stuffy Englishman. Victoria chewed on her lip as the demon swiped again at the gang, narrowly missing Willow. Her mind was churning with possible ways she could help. It could see the gang, and was using that to block any attempts they made of piercing the skin of its vulnerable area. Spike flung an axe at it, and the Demon easily caught the weapon, throwing it back at the vampire. Spike flung himself at the ground to avoid being beheaded. The axe hit a tree and embedded itself into the bark.

A sudden though came, unbidden to Victoria, and she grinned. Piranha demons have very high level of eyesight, but the rest of their senses were rather poorly developed. Eliminate its eyesight, and he was fair game.

Victoria pulled her bow from her quiver, double checking her string, before she plucked two arrows from her quiver. She notched the arrows, using her left had to separate the arrows as she held the bow horizontally.

"Hey, Pea brain," she yelled at the top of her voice. Startled the Piranha demon turned to face her.

Just as Victoria let go of the arrows.

Victoria grinned as the arrows whistled through the air, before embedding themselves into the Piranha demon's eyeballs. The demons roared in pain, raising both its hands to it eyes, trying to remove the deeply embedded arrows.

BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS

The entire Scooby gang, with the exception of Giles, who was still unconscious, spun towards the noise when they hear Victoria's yell, and their jaws dropped in unison when they saw the small vampire standing on top of the hill, overlooking the scene, bow drawn, and arrows notched, then released. Their shock only increased when the arrows embedded into the Demon's eyeballs, effectively blinding him. Green blood seeped from his eyes and Buffy shook her head, pulling herself out of the shock, before grabbing Angel's axe from his lax grip, and hurling it home into the skin beneath the demon's left arm. The demon screamed in pain, before exploding into a mass of green blood and goop, effectively covering the gang, pulling them from their stupor. The largest pieces of the demon fell into the hole in the ground he had crawled out of, which glowed green, before closing over, like it had never existed.

"Oh, ewwwww. I knew there would be and explosion of green gore. This is going to take forever to get out of my hair." Cordelia gasped. Spike wrapped his arm around Willow protectively, before she pushed him off.

"Spike, you smell of demon innards." She teased. Xander laughed, before Cordelia smacked him in the arm.

"You don't smell so peachy clean either Xander." The cheerleader told him. Buffy and Joyce approached Giles, who was stirring on the ground. Angel, however, was walking up the hill towards Victoria, who had a sheepish expression on her face.

"Um, hi Angel," she nervously said.

"I told you to stay at home." Angel said, his eye's flashing gold.

"So much for getting a thanks-for-saving-our-collective-backsides" Victoria mumbled under her breath.

"You could of gotten yourself killed, Victoria."

"Angel, I was well and truly out of range. If you hadn't noticed, I do not have green goo all over me, unlike some other vampires here. There was no way he could have gotten his claws on me. Besides, between me yelling out, and then shooting him in the eye, then Buffy killing him, he didn't have time to claw me."

"You deliberately disobeyed me, Victoria."

"Angel, I lived by my own rules for a hundred years. I don't like having rules, not ones that I know are pointless."

"I know, Victoria, and I know that you're ready, it's just that, well, I don't want you to be hurt. Part of me, it still sees you as that helpless little girl that Angelus pulled into that Alley and hid from the men her father had sent after her, the one with her neck cut open"

"That girl hasn't existed in a long time, Angel."

"I know, but she still lives on in my head, especially if Angelus has anything to do with it."

"Angel! Victoria! Little help, please," Willow yelled from the bottom of the hill, causing both vampires to whip around. Obviously the fight had been watched, because there were now twenty or so Bantha demons approaching the group from the other side of the cemetery.

"Angel," Victoria murmured, tapping Angel's shoulder. Angel looked at Victoria, before he looked behind them, where another five stood, armed with spears and knives. Angel turned to face the ones that were close, drawing his sword as he turned. Victoria went behind him so they were back to back as she focused on the ones that were threatening the rest of the gang. She notched another arrow to her bow and raised it, shooting one of the demons down as they attacked.

She shot down five in quick succession as Buffy, Xander, and Spike, began to fight their way though the mass of demons. Cordelia had produced a crossbow from her handbag, and was shooting at the demons, while Willow threw little balls of fire at the demons. Victoria could tell, just by listening, that Angel had dealt with the five that he had been fighting as he turned around so he was facing the rest of the group.

Victoria fired one last time, shooting a demon clean through the chest, as a calm fell across the cemetery. The fight was over. Giles staggered to his feet, having been protected by Joyce, who was carrying a crossbow like Cordelia. Angel led Victoria down the hill.

"Neat work with the arrows in eyes thing, that was cool. Could you show me how to do that?" Buffy was grinning, reassured that her watcher was alright.

"I don't know, how long have you got, Buffy?" Spike grinned

"Why does that matter?"

"Victoria's been shooting arrows since she was what, ten, maybe eleven. We're talking Human years here as well.

"I was Seven, actually, Spike. Don't worry Buffy; he's just still sore that I beat him when we were playing archery one time."

"You were twelve years old. How would you feel if you're best friend's twelve year old sister beat you at archery."

"Obviously the boys didn't tell you that I've been beating them since I was ten."

"Those bastards." Spike cursed, scowling. Willow took one look at him, and giggled.

"Aww, poor Spikey." She laughed.

"Could we go home now? I think some tea would stop everything from spinning, though maybe not." Giles said, clutching his head and swaying slightly. Buffy moved to her Watcher's side, sliding herself under his arm, while Joyce took his other side, and they led the way from the cemetery as the Scooby gang slowly made their way back to the mansion.

**A.N. Yay, finally the action scene that I promised. I hope you enjoyed it. The next chapter should be up next Friday, though I might need to change my update day to Saturdays because I go back to school on Monday (after six months off, gah) On the same note, updates might slow down a little, but I will try to update as often as I can.**

**Reviews also encourage more frequent updates.**

**R.W. **


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Victoria grinned as she curled up underneath her covers, having celebrated the demon's defeat with a mug of warm blood, followed by a hot chocolate, and then a shower. Of course, with everyone else, it went the other way, with showers being first. Victoria could only guess at how glad Angel and Spike were that the mansion had rather large showers, enabling them to share their showers with Buffy and Willow.

The slayer and the witch had gone home afterwards though. They both had to go back to work the next day and therefore needed a good night's sleep, especially since they had been fighting a demon

Joyce had gone home too, so Victoria had found herself surrounded by lovesick males who were missing their girls. She'd rolled her eyes at the lost puppy look that Spike had in his eyes, and had been forced to hide her smile as Angel brooded silently in a corner of the kitchen. Giles had gone straight to bed, still feeling the effects of being smacked on the head and knocked out during the fight.

All in all, it had turned into a bit of a come down from the thrill of the fight. Victoria was still rather pumped up on adrenaline, and was actually feeling rather bouncy. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to get to sleep when she was feeling like this she wriggled out of bed, and pulled the shorts she slept in off, pulling on a pair of sweats instead. Then she hurried down to the foyer. The kitchen light was still on, indicating to her that either Angel or Spike, or both, were still awake. She entered the room, smiling when she spotted Spike sitting at the kitchen table.

"Hey Spike"

"Queenie, what are you still doing up? Its way past little vampire's bedtime." Spike grinned. Victoria rolled her eyes.

"Well in that case, little Spike better go and snuggle down. We don't want him to be all cranky tomorrow." She retorted. Spike chuckled.

"Seriously, I am way too keyed up from the fight to sleep now," Victoria sat down beside him.

"Yeah, I know how that feels. I have no idea how Peaches manages it."

"Ah, it's all the brooding. It wears him out." Victoria joked. Spike laughed.

"Yeah, and the fact that he's so old. Fighting takes more out of him than it does to us"

The two vampires dissolved into laughter.

"So, you and Willow? Never picked you as one to go for a human girl." Victoria said casually as they stopped laughing.

"Willow is different. She's special. I love her so much, makes everything I ever felt for Dru seem like nothing. I mean, yeah, I loved Dru, in a way I still kind of do, but when I'm with Willow, I love her so much, and I know that she loves me back. We're both each other's number one. Every other relationship I've been in, I've always been number two. Dru always wanted her Daddy, Angelus wanted Dru or Darla. Hell, it goes all the way back to Cecily Adams." Spike spoke quietly, and he had a gentle look upon his face.

Victoria pulled a face, "God she was a first class Bitch. The way she treated you, and then when you died she was all sad and mopey. Puh-lease. That was so an act. I'm glad you got your revenge on her."

"Yeah, that was an enjoyable encounter for me anyway."

"Not so much for her though."

"No. She was the first one I used a railway spike on, you know."

"I remember you telling me that, years ago." Victoria whispered, "You do realise that I had to go to her funeral. What a waste of a day, considering I had less than two years worth of days left to me."

Spike laughed, wrapping his arm around Victoria, pulling her close. Victoria nestled close to him, enjoying being close to him.

"I never thought you, me and Angelus would ever live under the same roof again." She quietly murmured. Spike nodded.

"I know, it surprised me when I found him living on the hellmouth. Of course, it was convenient for me then. Dru was attacked by a mob in Prague, and she was so weak. The hellmouth was the only thing that I thought could save her. Then, well, in the end I had to use Angel. It almost killed him, and then Buffy dropped an organ on me. I broke my back, and was in a wheelchair for months. Dru was strong again though. Not long afterwards, Angelus came back, and Dru was back to being all over him. I joined forces with the slayer, promising to get Dru and leave Sunnydale, and she'd let me go. Dru never forgave me for betraying Angelus, saying that I wasn't demon enough anymore. She left me, and I went back to Sunnydale. About a year later, Willow was dumped by her boyfriend, and I had been chipped by the initiative. They were a government organisation that captured and did experiments on demons. I was caught, and they put a microchip in my head that stops me from hurting humans. I escaped, and went to the slayer for help, as a last resort. Angel was in LA at that point of time, so he didn't know. Willow and I, well, she was the only one of them who I liked to begin with, and I understood what it meant to have your heart broken by someone who you loved. She spent a lot of time with me, and well, one thing led to another, and we've been together ever since. I moved into a crypt, and she visited me every day. Then we defeated the initiative, and a few months after that, Angel came back from LA. When he heard what happened to me, he invited me to come and live with him in the mansion. I didn't really want to, I mean, I hated him, still do to a certain extent, for leaving back in 1902, and for Dru loving him more than she did me, but then I figured that Willow would like coming to the mansion more than to my crypt, so I moved in. Rupert moved in a couple of years later when his house got destroyed by a demon who he'd pissed off." Spike spoke softly, and whenever he mentioned Willow's name, a touch of a smile touched his face. Victoria was silent until he had finished

"And now your bachelor lifestyle has been ruined by me showing up." Victoria teased. Spike laughed.

"Nah, you're family. There's no way you would have stayed at that motel you're stuff was at for long once Angel learnt you were in town, even if he hadn't sensed you, and if you hadn't been dying." Spike ruffled Victoria's hair, still damp from her shower. She pushed his hand away, smiling, before they fell into a comfortable silence.

"You know how Angel got sent to hell. When exactly was that?"

"The summer of 1998, why?"

"I think I felt it. It was morning, and I'd been out fighting den of vampires the night before. I had only just woken up, and then I felt this pain wash over me. It hurt so badly, and then when it was over, it felt like a part of me was gone. It felt like something in my mind had snapped. I know now that it was probably the bond breaking. Was that what it was like for you?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right. Dru screamed for hours on end, I knocked her out just to shut her up. I felt it too, but then, my bond with him was a lot stronger than yours at that point, even though there is a generation between us. It hurt, it hurt a lot, but then, I was really pissed off at him at that point of time, so I didn't mind it."

"I guess that makes sense. It confused the hell out off me though. But when it turned out to be a one off, I eventually forgot about it. I got so used to the bond being broken, that it felt funny when it was reinstalled when he came back. That was confusing as well. Hindsight is a funny thing."

"That's true" Spike agreed.

The pair sat in silence then, savouring the feeling of just being together after one hundred years of separation. Victoria stayed close to Spike, feeling herself relax and unwind from the excitement of the evening. Spike kept his hand on her shoulder, holding her against him. Victoria closed her eyes and remembered what it was like for her and Spike in the past. Ever since Victoria had been a little girl of ten years of age, Will had been there, the best friend of her eldest brother. Her father and the rest of their social circle had ridiculed the young poet for his lower status, and his lack of skill in his chosen area of expertise. Victoria however, had liked him, with the shy, kind hearted man becoming the focus of a crush that had lasted up until his sudden death. Victoria remembered the day that they'd received word that William Pratt had been found dead in an alleyway, his throat slit. She remembered her elder brothers standing with her at Will's funeral, not objecting when Victoria sobbed onto heir coats. Two years later, they had been reunited, and although Victoria no longer crushed on the now Vampire, he had become her pseudo older brother, come friend, come sometimes more. Victoria had found it highly ironic that Will, the object of a crush that she carried for over a year, had been the one she had lost her virginity to, even if it was after they both had technically died.

Spike sat quietly, smiling to himself as he felt Victoria relax against his chest. Though he loved Willow with his heart, mind, body, demon, and soul, he still felt a fondness for Victoria, the young girl he had first met when he was twenty, and she was only ten, running around the lush green lawns of her family's country estate, the sun shining in her dark brown hair as she raced her younger siblings, trying to be the first to greet their eldest brother and his friend. Over the years, she had become a friend of his herself, perhaps the only girl that was close to him in age that really respected him. Then, he'd been turned by Dru, and the then sixteen year old had slipped from his mind, his thoughts preoccupied with learning the ins and outs of Vampirism. Then, two whole years later, they'd been reunited, and she had become the younger sister he'd never had as a human. Someone to protect, and teach, but also to play and jest with. Of all of their family, Will had known that Victoria knew him, actually known him, and understood him, the most.

Over the nineteen years they'd lived together, they had become lovers. Initially, because of necessity, then because of loneliness as they were both kept from bedding the true objects of their affection. Both of them had known that the sex had never meant anything romantic, but rather was for comfort, comfort in the knowledge that they were not the only one's in the world that had been wronged so cruelly by love.

Spike let out an unnecessary sigh, and glanced down at Victoria. The younger vampire had relaxed completely, falling asleep with her head resting on Spike's shoulder. Spike smiled.

"Come on, Queenie, Bed time" he whispered, scooping her up and carrying her out of the kitchen, using his elbow to flick the light switch off. Victoria stirred as Spike climbed the stairs to the first floor of the mansion.

"Spike, what are you doing?" she sleepily asked. Spike chuckled.

"Getting you to bed, little one"

"Put me down, I can walk." Victoria yawned. Spike reached the top of the stairs and lowered Victoria to her feet.

"You right to get to bed on your own, Queenie?" Spike asked.

Victoria nodded, "yes Spike, goodnight."

"Night Queenie." Spike turned and began to walk back to his room. Victoria smiled as she watched Spike walk away, before she turned and began to walk back to her own room, using her vampiric sight to guide her through the darkened corridors. She glanced over at the curtains as she entered her room, checking the window wand curtains were closed, before she slid back under the covers and quickly fell asleep again.

**A.N. Here we go, the newest instalment. I hope you like it. Just Another reminder that updates will be slower from now on, and that the rating of this story will be upped to M soon due to a couple of dark and slightly dirty chapters that are coming up. Reviews are great.**

**R.W. **

**P.S. Some people wanted some Spike/Willow background story. Here is some. There should be some more soon **


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Victoria hung her wet t-shirt from the piece of string she had hung up over the bath in her bathroom, pegging it in place and humming to herself. She turned and fished another clean, though very wet t-shirt from the bathroom sink, wringing it out over the sink, before hanging it beside her other t-shirt over the bath.

As mundane as it was, even vampires had to do their laundry, and Victoria had packed a bar of laundry soap, a piece of string, and a plastic bag of pegs into her bag when she'd left home for this very purpose. Of course, being typical males, none of the others had remembered to show her where the laundry was, and there was no way Victoria was going to ask, she was too proud for that, so she made do with the sink in her bathroom, and an improvised clothes line.

Having finished with her t-shirts, she moved onto her jeans and sweats, scrubbing at the odd stain that she'd picked up on her travels. She was so absorbed in her task that she failed to notice Angel and Spike entering her room.

"Queenie, where are you pet?" Spike called. Victoria jumped, splashing water onto the t-shirt she was wearing.

"I'm in here, guys." She replied, and the two older vampires strode towards the bathroom door, which Victoria had left open to encourage a breeze that would help her clothes dry.

Spike took one look at Victoria and snorted, and Angel had his hand over his mouth, trying to hide his grin.

"What? I was running out of clean clothes." Victoria said defensively as she slung her last pair of pants onto her clothes line, pegging it in place, before turning around and pulling the plug in the sink.

"There is a laundry, you know." Spike chuckled, eyeing the impromptu clothes line with amused eyes.

Victoria shrugged, "so, it's not like I knew where it was. Besides, it's like fricking Wayne Manor in here. Like I would have been able to find it without help. Anyway, I'm all done now. Was there anything you wanted?"

Angel cracked and let out a low chuckle, "Just wondering if you were up for a spar."

"I'm always up for a spar, 'cept when I've got stupid demon curses going through me." Victoria grinned, walking out of her bathroom and following the two older vampires out of her bedroom and down the hall.

Spike was still laughing over the Wayne Manor comment.

"So, you like your comic book heroes then, Queenie" he asked teasingly. Victoria rolled her eyes and raised an eyebrow.

"Are you kidding? The Batman movies are excellent, The X-men ones too. Hunky guys in black rubber. Yum."

Angel actually choked at that, and Victoria turned to him, smiling sweetly.

"Angel, you are a vampire. You have been for a long time. I'm sure you've figured out by now that you don't need to breathe."

Spike snorted, "She does have a point you know, Peaches."

"Shut up, Spike" Angel growled as they went down the stairs. Angel ignored the look Victoria had given the banister. In her early days as a vampire, Victoria had loved sliding down banisters. It had driven Darla up the wall, which was probably another reason why Victoria did it, but Angelus had found it adorable.

"Next time, Pet" Spike chuckled, catching Victoria's wistful expression. She grinned, brightening up again as they crossed the foyer and descended into the basement training room.

Angel and Spike moved to the centre of the room, circling each other, before they started to spar. Victoria had an immediate sense of Déjà vu as she watched them fight, remembering back when Angelus was teaching William how to fight. There were a few subtle differences, though. It was a lot less obvious who the elder, more experienced fighter was than it ever had been in the past, with Spike obviously improving over the years. Another obviously difference was the clothing that the pair wore, and the colour of Spike's hair. Otherwise, though, it was the same. Victoria felt a sense of safety and security wash over her as she watched them, as she was mentally taken back to a time when Souls and independence, and Slayers and hellmouths weren't issues, the only thing she had to worry about was helping Sire keep Dru and Will out of trouble, and keeping out of trouble herself.

Things had changed.

"Hey Victoria, you with us?" Spike called, dragging her from her thoughts. Victoria nodded.

"Yep, I'm good." She grinned, getting up and walking over to the others. Spike glanced from her to Angel, before he began to walk away, back to the crash mats.

"Be gentle." He called as he sat down, eager to watch.

"I will" Angel and Victoria said in unison. Victoria raised her eyebrow in an accurate impersonation of Spike.

"You scared you're going to hurt me, Angelus?" she teased. Angel smirked, his brown eyes flickering gold, but he said nothing in response.

"You shouldn't be" Victoria smirked right back. She easily dodged Angel's first punch, and blocked the kick that followed immediately after. She backed up, giving Angel room to launch his next attack. He went at her with his whole body, which she ducked under, using his momentum to flip her sire onto his back.

From the sideline, Spike cheered and applauded as Victoria quickly moved away as Angel got up again, nodding approvingly.

"Nice one"

"Thanks"

"So now I know that you can handle a fledgling going after you."

"Excuse me, the night I arrived in Sunnydale I staked two fledglings with a tree branch." Victoria protested, going on the offensive.

BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS BtVS

Giles hung his car keys up on the hook beside the door, and hung his coat up on its hook. He glanced around the dark mansion, looking for any sign of the three vampiric inhabitants of the building.

"Hello" he called as he crossed the foyer into the library, where he put his suitcase. Finding that the vampires weren't reading or researching, not that there was anything that needed researching. Hearing a heavy thud, followed by Spike's laughter from beneath him, Giles smiled, and walked out of the library. He walked down the stairs to the basement training room, and smiled as he saw the objects of his search. Angel and Victoria were playfully sparring, chasing each other around the room, while Spike watched on, laughing, as Victoria dropped to the ground and tripped Angel over.

"How long have they been doing that?" Giles asked Spike.

"Not long. It started out as serious Sparring, but then they decided to just muck around for a bit."

"Angel, muck around? That's not really like him." Giles said as Victoria ran at Angel, before jumping up onto the monkey bars and flying over his head. Angel spun around quickly and chased Victoria, who was not a very fast runner, due to her height, across the room, before latching onto her around her middle and tackling here to the ground, making sure she landed on top of him to prevent him hurting her.

"Yeah, well, Victoria can get him to do things that aren't typically like him. She's always been able to do it."

"Ah, I see."

"Yep, she's always been Sire's baby girl. She had him wrapped around her little finger the moment that he first laid eyes on her in that alleyway."

"What about Drusilla?" Giles asked. Spike grinned and rolled his eyes. He knew how interesting Giles found Vampiric family dynamics, especially when it concerned Angel and Spike.

"Dru was Angelus' princess, Victoria was his baby. Dru was the dark one, while Victoria was the light one of the family. Dru was insane and Angelus was proud of it. Victoria was innocent, and Angelus tried to keep her that way." Spike explained, "It was complicated, and I didn't understand most of it. Hell, I don't even think HE understood it, but it worked out in the end. Of course, threaten or endanger either of them, and he'd rip your throat out, strangle you with your intestines, then leave you out to turn to dust in the morning." Spike grinned as Giles winced.

"Thank-you for that lingering vision, Spike" a slightly nauseated Giles said. Spike laughed and pulled the watcher onto a chair.

"You're welcome. How was work?"

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Giles was crossing the foyer, walking from the library to the kitchen, when he spotted Spike and Angel standing near the door with Willow, who had obviously just arrived.

"Hey Giles," the redhead cheerfully greeted.

"Hello Willow, how was your day?"

"Quiet. I got a phone call from my boss in New York. He liked the program I had to make up last week."

"That's good." Angel grinned.

Spike pulled Willow into a hug and kissed her.

"You're bloody brilliant, love. Do you know that?"

"Hmm, remind me, Spike." Willow giggled. Giles rolled his eyes in Angel's direction, and the elder vampire grinned.

"Oh to be young and in Love." Giles muttered. Angel laughed.

"Don't you wish you were that young once again, Rupert?"

"I don't think the world could handle me being young again." Giles wryly said, "Ripper was a once in a century kind of deal. Thank God."

"Sure makes us in our youth sound harmless, doesn't it, Peaches?" Spike chimed in. Angel smiled a very Angelus like smile.

"Oh, I don't know, me boy. Your poetry probably caused half the ladies of the court to throw themselves into the Thames." He said, his accent thickening.

"It's not that bad. You obviously haven't read any of his latest stuff." Willow protested.

"Ah, you've been dabbling in poetry again have you, Will?"

"Yes, actually. It's not like you stopped drawing at any point."

"Hey guys" Victoria called from the second floor landing, before she hopped up onto the banister. She settled herself on the rail, regaining her balance, before sliding down.

"Incoming" she called out, giggling as she slid off the end and landed neatly. Spike and Angel collapsed in gales of laughter.

"You don't ever change, do you?" he asked Victoria as she walked over to the group.

"Nope." She grinned.

"Did I miss something?" Giles asked, perplexed. Angel stopped laughing, though he was still grinning.

"Victoria always did that back before we all went our separate ways. I think it was one things that annoyed Darla the most about Victoria."

"Why else do you think I did it if not to annoy the old bag? Well, that, and its fun as well." Victoria grinned. Spike started to laugh once again.

"Don't ever change, Queenie. Whatever anyone tells you, don't ever change."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

A few days after the first 'staircase incident,' Victoria watched from her seat, the bottom step of the flight of stairs, as she waited for Angel to be ready. While they had been sparring earlier that day, Angel had invited her to go out patrolling with him, as Buffy was staying home with her mother for mother-daughter bonding time, and Spike planned on going to Willow's house and watching movies with the red haired witch. Victoria was very happy, and had been practically jumping off the walls all afternoon. Spike had found it hysterical.

The blonde vampire in question watched as Victoria waited at the bottom of the stairs, forcibly reminded of the night that Angelus had first taken Victoria out hunting. She had bounded about the house, giggling, up until Darla shot her a very pointed look when Angelus had his back turned, and threatened to have the curtains in Victoria's room removed. Victoria had instantly settled down up until she and Angelus had left the house together, leaving Darla behind. Spike snorted at the memory.

"What's so amusing, Spike?" Angel asked as he stood next to the blonde.

Spike smirked, "just remembering the first night she went out hunting. I've got a major feeling of déjà vu happening."

Angel laughed, before sipping at his mug of blood, "Yes, it is a bit similar. Only difference is Darla's not threatening her and giving her death glares."

Spike laughed; "True, very true" he chuckled

Angel drained his mug, and smiled, his internal demon telling him that the sun had sunk beneath the horizon. He walked out into the foyer, where Spike was pulling on his duster. Victoria got to her feet and bounced over to him, her grey eyes flecked with gold as her demon responded to the idea of going hunting.

"What weapons do you have?" Angel asked.

"A couple of stakes, and two knives." Victoria promptly replied. Angel nodded approvingly. He walked to a cabinet that was near the door, and opened it, revealing a few weapons, including two crossbows, an axe, and a large quantity of stakes. He grabbed a couple of stakes for himself, tucking them into his pockets. He closed the cabinet and turned to face Victoria, who was hovering by the door.

"Alright, come on" he grinned, opening the door. Victoria shot out and Angel and Spike followed, both of them struggling to hide their grins of amusement at the younger vampire's antics.

Angel walked down off the porch, and Victoria trailed after him, trying to calm herself down, but failing dismally. She glanced around, studying her surroundings, even though they hadn't even left the mansion's grounds yet. She heard Spike coming up behind them, and Angel stopped at the end of the long driveway.

"Don't wait up" Spike grinned, before running off in one direction. Angel chuckled, and turned in the other direction, and began walking, Victoria stalked along behind him, having to move quickly in order to keep up with her sire.

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Victoria and Angel crouched behind the tombstone, having spotted a pair of vampires walking through one of Sunnydale's numerous cemeteries. Victoria ducked under Angel's arm and peered at the pair. She scowled.

"They're only fledgies. This is gonna be easy"

Angel peered out around her, having crouched protectively over his childe, "Don't be over confident." He cautioned his childe. Victoria sighed and rolled her eyes, but said nothing, instead reaching into her pocket for a stake. She ran her fingers along the smooth piece of wood, glancing up at Angel, who had also pulled a stake from his pocket. He nodded, and in perfect unison the two rose from their hiding place and approached the pair of vampires.

"Who are you?" one of the fledglings asked as the two souled vampires drew near. Angel smirked.

"What are you?" the other asked, and Victoria cocked her head to one side and grinned. At the same time, they attacked, both of them staking their opponent quickly. Victoria straitened, brushing herself off as her vampire's dust drifted to the ground in front of her.

"Shall we?" she asked Angel, who was watching her. He nodded, and they continued along their patrol route.

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Angel followed Victoria as they walked up the driveway to mansion. It had been a busy night, as they'd encountered a dozen vampires. He'd stayed close to Victoria, but had let her take the lead. Throughout the patrol, she'd killed eight vampires, and had obviously worn off the excess energy she'd had before the patrol. Although she wasn't obviously tired, she wasn't jumping around as much as she had been previously.

Victoria opened the front door and entered the foyer, followed closely by Angel. They glanced around, and noticed the kitchen light was still on. The walked towards the lit room, and entered it. Giles was sitting at the table, drinking some tea and reading a newspaper. Angel cleared his throat, and the watcher jumped.

"What! Oh, Angel, I didn't hear you. How was the hunt Victoria?"

"We dusted twelve Vampires, but we didn't see anything else strange. Angel pointed all the good spots to see vampires, and all the landmarks around town. I really didn't see that much before I came to the mansion. Do you want something to drink, Angel?"

"Yes please." Angel nodded, before sitting down opposite from Giles. Victoria went into the kitchen and began to get two mugs of blood ready.

"Spike's spending the night at Willow's." Angel told Giles, who nodded.

"I know, he told me when I got home from work. Will he be spending the day there as well?"

"Probably. Willow's house is fairly Vamp friendly."

Victoria carried the two mugs over to the table carefully and sat one down in front of Angel, before she sat down beside him.

"So, you said twelve vampires, yes?"

"Yep." Victoria sipped from her mug.

"Most of them were fledglings, nothing too difficult" Angel added.

"Good, nothing out of the ordinary then. Always good news when you consider the hellmouth and all." Giles said. Angel nodded, and Victoria had another mouthful off blood. She hadn't fed before patrol, she'd been much too excited, and so she found herself hungry for the unlife sustaining fluid.

Victoria glanced at the clock on the wall, and then drained her mug.

"I'm going up to my room for a bit."

"Alright then." Angel nodded. Victoria rinsed her mug out, before leaving it on the sink and went up to her room. She went into her bathroom, and had a hot shower, washing away the dirt and dust that had clung to her skin. Once she felt she was sufficiently clean, she dried herself off and pulled on her pyjamas. She walked over to her bag, and pulled out a diary. She opened it to the next clean page, and began to write.

_Dear Diary;_

_Today, for the first time in 102 years, I went hunting with Angelus. It was just me and him. It was great. I was very excited, and Spike laughed at me all afternoon because I was being hyper, as I tend to be when I am excited. It was just like I remembered it to be, the two of us being out hunting, except, naturally, for the targets we were seeking. Instead of tasty mortal that we could sink our teeth into, literally, we went searching for vampires and demons that were looking for their dinner. We found twelve, and I killed eight of them. I think Angel was impressed with my amount of skill. I think he forgets that I've been actually hunting demons and Vampires longer than anyone else has (Giles doesn't count, because I know that all watchers do is read old books and drink tea.) _

_Spike is spending the night at Willow's, and Buffy and Joyce are having mother-daughter bonding time (I'm not jealous, not at all, not even a little bit), and Giles had to stay back at the shop with Cordy, so it left Angel and I to do patrol, and to have father/daughter (or Sire/Childe) bonding time. I've missed it._

_I didn't have any dreams last night, which is good. I think it's been the first full, undisturbed night's sleep I've had since, well, before the curse. Go Me. _

_I rang up the gang back home earlier today. They told me that it was quiet up there, thank God. They seem to be handling everything well enough. I feel guilty about being down here and enjoying myself, when they're up there doing what technically is my job._

_Stop rolling your eyes, I know you are (or would be, if you had eyes, which you don't, because you're a book.) I know, I shouldn't worry about them, but I do, they're my responsibility._

_I think I know how Angelus felt about the rest of us before he left. Damn that's scary._

_Victoria_

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Angel and Giles sat in silence after Victoria made her exit. Angel finished his drink, and rinsed out his mug, putting it beside Victoria's to be washed later on. He went and sat back down at the table opposite from Giles.

"So, how did she go?" Giles asked, smiling. Angel paused; making sure Victoria was out of earshot. He could no longer smell her, so he knew that she was still up in her room probably.

"She was so much better than I thought. She killed eight vampires with little help, and some of them were two at once. I've never seen her so strong."

"I suppose she had to be strong. Besides, over one hundred years of fending for herself would make her a good fighter, especially when for fifteen of those years she's been fighting demons." Giles said, polishing his glasses.

"I know, it's just I'm not used to seeing her like this, you know? She was always Angelus' baby girl, the one that needed him to protect her. Even Dru could defend herself better than Victoria could. It's strange seeing her fighting so well." Angel ran his fingers through his hair, spiking it up. Giles sighed.

"Angel, sometimes we need to let go of the past. Victoria's grown up, and left the nest, so to speak. She's a big girl and can handle herself."

"I know, but still…"

Giles smiled, "Yes, I know, Angel. I understand. Sometimes I feel the exact same about Buffy, or the others. Do you think Victoria will be able to take up regular patrols and take part in our campaigns against demons?"

"You'll have to ask her, but yes, I think she'll be able to handle it." Angel admitted, both to the watcher, and to himself.

**A.N. Here's the next chapter. Unfortunately, I won't be able to update soon, as I'm going away tomorrow, and won't have access to a computer for two weeks (Shocked gasp, how will I live?) Hence, the posting of this chapter. Enjoy.**

**Happy Easter (to those of you who celebrate it.**

**R.W. **

**P.S. Reviews are great**


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

**A.N. This chapter contains references to Sex, Rape and abuse, and isn't a happy chappy.**

Willow and Spike lay together in her bed, resting after their latest bout of lovemaking. Spike softly stroked his fingers through Willow's red hair, and kissed the top of her head as she nestled into his chest. He ran his fingers down her neck, and along her shoulder, frowning when he felt how tense she was.

"Willow, is anything the matter, pet?" he quietly asked. Willow raised her head and lloked up at him.

"No, nothings wrong, why do you ask?" she spoke quickly, and Spike frowned. Something was definitely bothering his little red head.

"You're all tense, luv. I know something's worrying you. Don't lock me out" Spike softened his eyes, and looked straight on into Willow's eyes, using his version of puppy dog eyes, which he didn't use very often, and was very effective against Willow when he did use it. Willow rolled her eyes and sighed.

"It's nothing, Spike."

"Yes it is, pet. Come on, out with it. Tell Spikey what's bothering you."

Willow sniffed, finally conceding defeat, "Did you and her ever, you know, sleep together?"

"Me and who, pet?" Spike asked, frowning slightly.

"You and Victoria. You guys just seem really close, that's all."

Spike took an un-needed breath, and held Willow tightly against his bare chest.

"Yeah, we did, on and off, back before Angelus got his soul back. At first it was because he ordered us to do it, and then because we needed to feel as though someone gave a damn, actually cared about us. Most of the time though it was because we couldn't be the people we were in love with."

"Meaning Dru and Angel?" Willow asked

"Dru yes, but not Angel," Spike replied, "I loved Dru, or so I thought at the time. You were the one who showed me what real love is. Victoria didn't love Angel, at least not in the romantic sense anyway. He was like her dad."

"Then who…?"

Spiked sighed, "You can't tell anyone this I told you this, especially Angel or Victoria."

"Okay Spike. What, is this some sort of Aurelius family secret or something?"

"Kind of. It all started five years after Victoria was turned. The Master told Darla that she was to take Angel, Dru, Me and Victoria to a party in Paris. All of the major Vampire families were there. Us and the Master, Dracula's clan, a couple of others. Victoria met up with a Vampire when she was there. He was older then her, but still only a fledgling in the grand scheme of things. His name was Arthur and it was love at first sight, from what Victoria told me anyway. That night, and for the rest of that week, they both snuck out and met up, and spent the nights together. After the week, Angel and Arthur's sire found out about it. It was the first, and perhaps only, time Victoria was in major trouble with Angelus. Darla was furious, and Victoria was lucky not to be brought to the Master. He was livid."

"I don't understand, why was Victoria and Arthur being in love so bad."

"Let me put it this way, love. Have you ever heard it said that Angel and Buffy are kind of like Romeo and Juliet?"

"Yes, a couple of Vamps have said it, you've said it a couple of times, and I think I heard Giles say it years ago."

"Well, Victoria and Arthur were the Romeo and Juliet of the Vampire world in the late 19th Century. Two star crossed lovers, born, or rather, sired in apposing houses, fated to be enemies, destined to be lovers, torn apart by the beings that created them."

"I still don't get it, Spike." Willow murmured.

"Victoria was of the Aurelius line, but Arthur wasn't. He was the great grand-childe of Dracula, sworn enemy of the Master."

"Oh my God, did Victoria know?"

"Yes, that's why they kept it a secret; of course, it was a bit of a giveaway when they came home reeking of one another."

"What happened after they were found out?" Willow asked, her eyes filling with tears. If she remembered Angelus right, she had a feeling she already knew.

"Well, Angelus tortured her, and then he went out hunting, and Darla had a go. Victoria was half dead by the next morning. Darla forbade anyone from feeding her, including Angelus. That went on for two weeks, and Victoria was practically dust, before she was allowed to be fed again, but not directly from any of us, the most any of us could do to help was to slit a human's throat, and hold her mouth on the gash. It took her months to recover, and Angelus ordered all of us never to mention Arthur's name ever again. I don't know what happened to Arthur, but I heard that he was taken to Dracula's castle. Knowing that smarmy git, he was probably staked."

"That's so sad." Willow commented, and Spike found himself nodding.

"It is, pet, I completely agree with you."

"Do you think Victoria will fall in love again, have a second chance?"

"I don't know, luv. I really don't love." Spike kissed the top of her head reassuringly, and she placed her head on his chest, right over where his heart would have been beating.

"I love you, Spike."

"I love you too."

The two lay in silence, both of them unknowingly thinking of the young Vampire that had landed suddenly, unexpectedly, and surprisingly into the lives and/or unlives of the Scooby gang less than a week before.

"I think what pissed Angelus off the most about it was that it was the first time Victoria did something that wasn't innocent, and it kind of tarnished his vision of her. I mean, she was still his baby, once the punishment was over, but in the back of his mind, he knew that she'd gone behind his back and slept with the enemy." Spike soft said, breaking the silence. Willow looked up at him.

"Was Arthur her first, you know, boyfriend."

"Well, kind of. I'd already slept with her at that point, but that was when Angelus told us to, because it was necessary, but we weren't in love. The closest thing we ever had to love was the slight crush she had on me when we were both human."

"Why would you two sleeping together be necessary if you weren't in love?"

"You're full of questions tonight, Red, aren't you?' Spike teased. Willow poked out her tongue, and Spike laughed.

"When a member of the Aurelius clan is sired, he or she must serve the Master for a period of three months. It usually happens sometime during the first or second year after they are sired. It's only childre that do it, so minions need not apply. Angelus did it, Dru did it, and I did it. Dru handled it the best of any of us, and I almost died during it because I wasn't allowed to go hunting, and none of the Master's minions would feed me."

"Why?" Willow asked.

Spike frowned, "I don't know, but I have a feeling they were ordered not to because I was close to Angelus, and the Master and Angelus were pissed at each other for some reason. Naturally, after nearly loosing me, Angelus really didn't want Victoria going to do it, especially when he knew what happened in the court of the Master. At the time, she'd been a vampire for almost two years, and she was still a virgin, and Angelus was pretty sure that would have changed had she been sent off in that state."

"You mean, she would have slept with someone while she was there?"

"Not consensually. Let me put it this way, Willow, The Master was like most Vamps in that he didn't care what gender you were. Dru probably enjoyed it, but Angelus and I both learnt that he likes it more when you struggle."

"Oh My Goddess." Willow gasped, clasping her hands to her mouth.

"Naturally he didn't want Victoria's first time to be like that, and he didn't want to do it himself, so he looked to me to do it. I was happy enough to comply, because I knew why he was doing it. It was a good thing we did too, because when she came back, three months later, she was very weak from hunger, she had been tortured, and her wounds weren't healing, and she reeked of the Master, and she shied away whenever anyone touched her. That first day, she just lay in her bed, not doing or saying anything. Angelus and I lay with her until she broke down and started crying, and then we both held her. Angelus was furious afterwards. Darla took Dru and went running back to the Master, while us three went off together. It took Victoria six months to recover properly. Angelus was so scared that she'd turn out like Dru and she'd walk out into the sunlight."

"The poor thing," Willow whispered, snuggling closer to Spike, "It explains why she was so happy to hear that he'd died."

"Yeah, I know. She wasn't the only one. When Dru and I first came to Sunnyhell, we danced on his grave."

Willow smiled briefly at the comment, before she yawned, worn out by the conversation, and their earlier lovemaking.

"Go to sleep, pet, I'll see you in the morning. I'll make pancakes for breakfast"

"Mm, okay Spike" Willow sleepily whispered, before she closed her eyes and succumbed to her weariness.

**A.N. I didn't intend for this chapter to be as dark as it turned out, and I didn't actually plan on telling the story of Victoria and Arthur this early on in the story, but it just fitted in here well. The next chapter (number 30, Woot!!) will be back to the normal level or fluffiness. **

**I hope you enjoyed reading this.**


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30 – WOOT!!!

Victoria slowly entered the library, having been told by Angel that Giles wanted to see her while she had been having her breakfast. The Watcher was sitting at his desk, a large piece of paper spread out on the table before him, weighed down by spherical paper weights. He seemed to be absorbed in his task, so Victoria cleared her throat.

"Um, you wanted to see me, Giles?"

"What, oh, yes Victoria, have a seat."

"Okay" Victoria sat, and began to feel nervous. Things never went well when the conversation was opened with 'have a seat.'

"Angel was most impressed with your work last night." Giles said, sitting down beside Victoria, who nodded.

"Yeah, I thought he would be. He has this annoying habit of still thinking I'm dependent on him."

"I was wondering, since you were staying for a few months, until you're needed with your friends up north, if you might like to help us patrol the hellmouth and fight the demons we encounter" Giles said. Victoria grinned.

"Have you talked to Angel about this?"

"Well, yes actually. He said you were ready for it, and besides, Joyce, Xander and Cordelia have no particular special talents, well, as far as the supernatural goes anyway, and I myself have only limited magical talent, so a souled Vampire, even if they are in a slightly weakened state, is a great help."

"Okay then" Victoria nodded, "I'd love to help. What can I do?"

"Well, nothing for now. We're having a research meeting tonight that you can help us with."

"Cool, what are you looking at?" Victoria glanced at the piece of paper spread out on Giles' desk.

"Oh, it's a copy of my family tree. My mother just recently sent it over from England. Would you like to take a look?"

"Yeah, I guess." Victoria got up and walked over to the desk, looking over the family tree. Giles was down the bottom, and his family spread out the further up the tree it went. Victoria found herself looking up the tree on Giles father's side. The Giles name had been passed down from father to son for centuries, though Victoria froze when she reached the details for Giles' Great Grandfather and great grandmother. According to the tree, Robert Giles (1860 – 1947) married Elizabeth Stratford (1868 – 1960) on the 17th of April, 1888. Her eyes flickered up to the details about Elizabeth's parents, Edward Stratford (1820 –Unknown) and Jane Howlett (1835 – 1920). Victoria's jaw dropped at the familiar names.

"I can help you fill more of this in, if you like, Giles." She softly said.

"What do you mean, have you found someone that you knew?"

"Yes, I have." Victoria pointed at Elizabeth's name, and Giles polished his glasses so he could see better, before replacing them on his nose

"Elizabeth Stratford?" Giles queried, "How did you know her. Was she a friend of yours before you were turned?"

"In a way, yes. She was my younger sister. According to this, I am your Great-grand aunt."

Giles immediately pulled his glasses off and polished them again, "Well, not what I was expecting" he stammered.

"I know, seeing her name there, it's kind of freaky."

"You said that you could help fill in some dates?"

"Yes, Edward Stratford, Elizabeth's father, I know when he died."

"Your father as well?"

"Yeah, my father as well, unfortunately."

Giles pulled out a pen, and looked expectedly at Victoria.

"Oh, right. Um, 15th of December, 1882, in London, at about approximately ten thirty in the evening. Publicly, his cause of death was declared as a sudden heart attack, privately, it was suicide. Both of these are lies."

"Vampire Attack?" Giles asked.

"Yeah, didn't see it coming."

"Wait a minute. The fifteenth of December, that's less than two weeks after you were turned."

"Yeah, I was sired on the third of December."

"Was it Angelus?"

"No, it definitely wasn't Angelus. He was there, but he didn't lay a finger on him. It was me. My first major kill."

"You killed your own father?"

"Yeah, but to my defence, he killed me first. I was just returning the favour.

"I though Angelus killed you?"

"When Angelus found me, I was already dying. My father was an abusive drunk, and I was his favourite target. The night I died, he threw a broken brandy bottle at me, and it cut my neck open. He ordered me to get out of the house, and I fled. He sent men after me, but I was scared, and hid from them. Then, Angelus found me, and I died in an alleyway not far from my house. They found my body, and I was buried in the family crypt. The next night, I woke up, and dug myself out, and then Angelus took me back to the house he had in London, and the rest is history." Victoria's voice was thick with emotion, and Giles sensed he should change the subject.

"Did you and Elizabeth have any siblings?" he asked. Victoria nodded.

"There was Henry and George, and Mary, then me, then Thomas, then Elizabeth. I was closest to Thomas and Elizabeth, because Henry and George were both a lot older than I was, and Mary died when we were only a day or so old. Henry became Spike's best friend when William was about twenty. Henry was younger than him, though"

"Good lord, so my great grandmother was surrounded by future vampires from an early age. That's very fascinating."

"If you say so, Giles." Victoria said, her eyebrow raised.

"Well, considering she married a member of the watcher's council it is." Giles defended, and Victoria grinned.

"Whatever you say Giles, or should I start calling you Neffy Poo?" She laughed.

"Oh, do shut up" Giles groaned, "Are you sure that you aren't related to Spike as well?"

"Not in the human sense." Victoria smiled, before she got up, 'I'll leave you to your family tree."

"Alright then." Giles said, and watched as the Vampire walked out of the library. Once he was sure she was gone, he pulled out a notebook and opened it to a clean page. It was the same one he had been writing in when Victoria had told her 'life story'. Giles opened up to a clean page and pulled out a pen, before he began to write.

_Victoria just said something interesting, well, several things, actually. She saw me looking at the Giles family tree, and spotted her sister on it. My great grandmother was the younger sister of Victoria the Vengeful. That will shock my father a bit, I must say. _

_Victoria also told me that she murdered her father less than two weeks after being turned, but unlike her other crimes, she shows little remorse over it (much unlike Angel, who gets more even more 'broody' when his family is mentioned.) Obviously, Victoria did not murder her sister, or apparently her mother, and when she spoke of her other members of her family she seemed to be quite fond of them. She did say that she held her father responsible for her being turned, and also said that even had she not encountered Angelus on the night she was turned, she still would have died. It appears that Victoria's father was very abusive and also was an alcoholic, and that he mortally wounded her with a broken bottle, before ordering her to get out. Victoria fled out into the streets and hid in an alleyway. Angelus found her there, and the rest, as they say, is history._

_I know that I should not condone murder, and that two wrongs don't make a right, but you can understand where Victoria is coming from, especially considering that at the time, she did not have a soul. _

Giles put down his pen, and closed the book up. He slid it back into the drawer he kept it in, and then leant back in his chair, his eyes on the family tree spread out before him, his eyes focused on the notations he had made on the paper.

"You learn something new every day" he said to himself with a wry smile

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That night, the Scoobies sat clustered together in the library of the mansion. Buffy, Angel, Xander and Cordelia were out patrolling, and the rest of the group were doing some general research. Spike and Willow were at the computer, Giles was pouring over books, though as there was no big bad to research, there was nothing for him to be searching for, Victoria was writing in her diary, and Joyce was sipping at a cup of tea. They all jumped when they heard the mansion door burst open with out any warning.

"What the hell?" Spike growled. Buffy raced into the room, closely followed by Angel. Xander and Cordelia appeared behind them, panting from their run.

"Tell…me…why…you…live…so…far…from…the…cemeteries…Angel?" Xander gasped.

"Giles, we've got a problem" Buffy said, ignoring Xander's gasping. Spike smirked.

"Other than Xander's apparent lack of fitness?"

"Shut up Spike, this is serious. We saw this demon in one of the cemeteries, and neither Angel nor I could get a hit on it. And then we lost it in the sewers."

"That explains the smell," Victoria wrinkled her nose, and Spike chuckled.

"Alright Buffy, calm down. What exactly did this demon look like? Did any of you recognise it?"

"It looked like a giant Scorpion. Lots of legs, with a tail that had a massive stinger attached to it that curved over its back." Buffy quickly explained

"It was about Buffy's height" Cordelia added.

"I've never seen anything like it." Angel confessed.

"What colours was it?" Victoria asked, going even paler than she was usually.

"Black, with red eyes and markings on the face, and it had splashes of blue on the sides. Why?" Buffy said.

"I think I know what, or rather, who it is Can I borrow your phone?" Victoria spoke, an element coming into her voice that the human members of the gang were unfamiliar with, but Angel and Spike recognised, and noticed with apprehension.

Fear.

**A.N. Dum dum dum, the plot thickens. Who is this mysterious scorpion looking thing, or rather, what is this mysterious scorpion thing? Why is Victoria so freaked? Will this author stop writing stupid questions in her author's notes and get on with the story?**

**All shall be revealed in the next chapter. **

**Reviews are good**

**R.W. **


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Angel watched as Victoria took the phone Giles passed to her, and quickly dialled a number which she obviously knew well.

"Please be home, please be home" she whispered under her non existent breath, pacing slightly as she obviously waited for someone to pick up. She suddenly smiled, and stopped pacing, and Angel realised someone had answered the phone.

"Hey, it's Tor, how are things going?" Victoria greeted. Angel couldn't hear what the person on the other end of the line was saying.

"That's great. Um, we might have a little bit of a situation going on down here. Do you think you can email me some of the stuff from the database?"

"Yes, of course I have access to the computer, these guys are even more tech savvy than we are." Victoria rolled her eyes, and Willow and Buffy giggled.

"Alright, could you send me the files we made about those Scorpinex demons that we had about six or seven moths ago."

"Yep, those are the ones. You've sent them, okay, thanks. I'll give you a call soon, tell the others I say hi."

"Yes, of course I will be careful; I know what I'm doing."

"Don't be smart, I'll talk to you soon. Bye"

Victoria hung up, and Willow moved to the computer and turned it on.

"Thanks Willow" Victoria smiled, waiting for the computer to boot up

"A Scorpinex demon, yes, why didn't I think of that?" Giles polished his glasses thoughtfully.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Giles. It's not as if they are common or anything." Victoria said reassuringly.

"What's a Scorpinox demon?" Buffy asked.

"Scorpinex Demon," Giles corrected, "Scorpinox demons are a completely different thing."

"It's a Demon that dwells in a hell dimension, but they aren't common, they rarely make it to maturity. When they become mature, they choose a mate, and they become bonded. A Scorpinex demon will only ever have one mate. Once every one hundred years, the pair will breed, and they will go to this dimension to lay their eggs. Once the eggs are hatched, they return to their own dimension, complete with their brood of hatchlings. They don't go out during the day; they hide underground on inside abandoned buildings." Victoria explained as the computer finished loading. She got onto the internet and logged onto her personal email (). At the top of her inbox was the new, unopened message, from the gang's 'business' email address (demons.). She clicked to open it, and then opened the attached file.

"Buffy, is this the demon that you guys saw?" Victoria asked, having brought up a photo. Buffy, Angel, Cordelia and Xander looked over her shoulder.

"Yep, that's the one" Buffy nodded

"Definitely" Xander agrees

"Where did you get this info from?" Cordy asked

"Why are there two in the photo, we only saw one?" Angel added. Victoria got up and walked away from the computer, breathing deeply, even though she didn't need to.

"Because if it's who I think it is, then there is only one. Crap." Victoria scowled.

"You know this particular demon?"

"Yes, and at the same time, a huge, resounding, no. He and his mate rocked up in down town Detroit about seven months ago, way before the curse, and started causing havoc, so my friends and I went after them. They built their nest in an old, abandoned warehouse. While the male was out hunting, we attacked 'Mummy Demon', and I killed her, before we torched the warehouse, killing all of the little baby demons. As you can expect, Daddy demon wasn't very happy, and now, it looks like he's tracked me all the way to Sunnydale."

"This demon is after you?" Angel asked, suddenly worried about his childe.

"Yeah." Victoria flopped down into a seat.

"Geeze, you just can't stay out of trouble, can you?" Spike asked, rolling his eyes dramatically. Victoria glared at him.

"Well, isn't that the pot calling the kettle black."

"Hey!" Spike retorted, puffing himself up, until Angel growled warningly.

"Enough, both of you. We need to figure out how to kill this thing."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Who is this we? This guy is my responsibility. It's my fault that he isn't already with his mate and spawns in hell. Besides, I know how to kill him, none of you guys do." Victoria got to her feet again and approached Angel angrily.

"You aren't seriously thinking of going after him alone, are you?" Giles asked, polishing his glasses.

"So what if I am. I can handle this."

"This time last week, you were this close to dying." Angel protested

"Do you have death wish?" Spike asked. Victoria snorted.

"Spike, I'm already dead. Besides, that bastard's stinger is poisonous. Fatally poisonous. I can't risk you guys getting hurt."

"How do we kill it?" Buffy asked.

"Not telling, you'll have to find out yourself. The way I figure it, you can try and find it in your books, while I'm going of to kill it. By the time you're getting close, it will already be over."

"Hey, this is MY Hellmouth, MY turf, the moment your demon dragged himself into town, he became MY responsibility." Buffy snapped.

"This isn't helping" Giles said wearily. "It's too late for us to go after it now anyway; Victoria said that they go into hiding throughout the day."

"They tan about as well as Vampires" Victoria confirmed.

"Good, and it won't hunt through the day?"

Victoria shook her head, "No, it won't,"

"Alright, I suggest we meet again as early as possible for research tomorrow afternoon."

"Tomorrow's Friday, we should bring sleepover-ish things" Willow suggested. Giles nodded.

"Good idea, Willow. For now, I think we should all go and get as much sleep. Oh, and do be careful."

"Will do, G-man." Xander said, getting to his feet. Cordy followed him, and they both left. Willow, Buffy and Joyce followed them out, while Victoria went up to her room, a deep scowl on her face. Giles, Spike and Angel all knew that it would be best to avoid her for the next twenty four hours.

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Victoria flung herself down onto her bed, punching on of her pillows, having slammed her bedroom door. It had done nothing, but it still made her feel a little bit better.

"I love acting like a teenager" she mumbled into her pillow, before she rolled over, scowling deeply.

The Scorpinex demon had followed her to Sunnydale. She'd known it had been a possibility when she'd left Oakfield, but she'd always thought it would have taken longer, and after she'd decided to stay, she'd hoped it would have been after she'd had enough time to convince Angel that she was a good fighter. Judging by Giles' invitation to start patrolling with the others, she'd partially convinced him, but she knew that it would be awhile before her Sire would be totally convinced.

Buffy and the others were a different story. They obviously didn't realise how dangerous Scorpinex demons were. Victoria shuddered as she thought about what would happen if they went up against him unprepared. They would definitely be killed, slowly and painfully, and then their deaths would be her fault for leading the demon to Sunnydale, albeit non-intentionally. Victoria knew that, soul or not, Angel would kill her if something happened to Buffy, or Spike would kill her if something happened to Willow. Maybe she should have just caved, and told them how to kill the demon. Beheading was the only effective way to kill the adult demon, or exposure to sunlight (not that Victoria could use that particular method). The eggs were easily burnt, but the adult demons were resilient to fire.

Victoria sighed dramatically and eyed her bow, which she had leant against the wall. She was going to have to borrow weaponry, a sword preferably; she'd never really liked axes. They were too cumbersome for her liking. She'd just have to convince someone that it would be better for her to go alone. Once he read about how hard Scorpinex demons were to kill, maybe Giles would support her, considering that if had the choice, he would much rather something bad happen to her, rather than any of the Scoobies. Maybe Willow and Cordelia as well, for the sole reason that they would probably understand Buffy's limitations, and would want their friend to stay safe. Xander would probably follow Cordelia, but Victoria wasn't sure how loyal he was to Buffy. Joyce would side with Victoria when she found out the risks, if only to try and protect her daughter from an almost certain death.

Victoria had no doubts that Buffy was a highly skilled slayer, the fact that she'd lasted so long was a testament to that, and in most circumstances, the blonde slayer would be a better fighter that the dark haired vampire, but Victoria knew what the Scorpinex demons could do, and humans were vulnerable, especially to the fatal toxin that was in the demon's stinging tail. Victoria herself had been scratched with the sting, and the toxin had affected her. She'd been a little groggy the few hours that followed, but that had been all. She'd read accounts of human victims lasting for days in absolute agony as the cells within their body were killed one by one. She wouldn't wish that on anyone.

Not even on a gypsy.

**A.N. This chapter is dedicated to all the men and women who have served their country in times of war, especially those who did not come back, and those who continue to bear the physical and mental scars that they gained during conflict. Lest We Forget. ANZAC day (25 April), 2010**

**A.N. Number 2 ANZAC stands for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. On the 25****th**** of April, 1915, the ANZACS landed on the Gallipoli peninsula, Turkey, under heavy enemy fire. Every year, on the 25****th**** of April, Australians and New Zealanders all over the world commemorate the sacrifice of the men and women who serve in our armed forces. **


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The next afternoon, Victoria found herself in the training room, stretching her limbs and focusing on calming her self. Her eyes closed as she slid into a form of meditation, which she was roughly brought out of when she heard the gym door open, and then slam shut. She opened her eyes, spotting Angel and Buffy, who were watching her. Victoria got to her feet as Angel led his girlfriend towards her.

"Victoria, I want to talk to you about the Scorpinox demon."

"I thought you might. What about it?"

"How dangerous is it?"

"For non mortals, not very, for humans, very dangerous, I've never heard of a human ever defeating one, even a slayer. This species of demon has killed slayers in the past, and it isn't a pleasant death, from what I've read. The one that's come so Sunnydale, he's gonna be pissed off, and very aggressive."

"So, you think I can't handle it?" Buffy's voice rose defensively. Victoria backed up a step, away from the angry slayer.

re AUrelius ever defeating one, even a slayer. This species of demon have killed more slayers than, well, pritty "Of course not, I've heard some of what you've done since you've been called, and I am impressed, you're by far the best slayer I've ever herd of, but I am simply saying that this is not going to be a walk in the park. That's why I was planning on doing it. I've already killed one, and I will be the one who can find the sucker the fastest."

"How's that?"

"Because he's going to be following me, I'm the one he's pissed at, remember."

"I still don't get why you want to go after him alone. Spike and I could go with you, you said non humans weren't as at risk."

"The Scorpinex demon is probably not going to be the only bad guy out and about tonight. If you go with me, who is going to go patrolling and deal with the vampires? It's too risky for Buffy or the others to go out tonight."

Angel had to concede that Victoria had a point, though he didn't like it.

"What, so I'm not even allowed to patrol?" Buffy was peeved. Victoria sighed and her demon growled, sensing the sun setting.

"Whatever, just be careful, and stay away from me. Can I borrow some weapons? My bow and some arrows are not going to do anything."

Angel looked at Victoria, and saw the defiance in her eyes. He knew that look, though he had seen it rarely, and barely ever directed at him. It was Victoria's own unique version of Willow's resolve face, and Angel knew that there would be no way he could talk to Victoria out of her plan.

"Help yourself" he gestured at the weapons cabinet. Victoria nodded her thanks for the invitation, and at Angel's veiled sign of acceptance of her choice. Buffy went upstairs, and Angel watched as Victoria examined the selection of weapons, eventually picking a sword and a long knife. Angel eyed the weapons warily.

"Wouldn't an axe be better?' he asked. Victoria shrugged.

"Maybe, but I avoid using axes as much as possible, I never feel as in control of it as I do when I'm using a sword or my bow." Victoria shrugged before she climbed up the stairs. Angel followed her up. Victoria went up to her room, and Angel walked into the library, where the rest of the group was sitting. Buffy had obviously just told them all of Victoria's decision to go after the Scorpinex demon alone, and that Victoria had told her that there shouldn't be patrol, or at least, not one made by 'us mere humans'.

Xander had an outraged look on his face, but Willow looked thoughtful.

"She does have a point, Victoria I mean. We don't know where the demon is, and if we did encounter it, we'd just get in the way, and probably get killed. Victoria is the expert on this demon, so we should just let her go and do her thing."

"I guess" Buffy conceded. She knew she was being selfish, and she knew that sometimes she needed to rely on other people in order to achieve her mission, and to stay alive, but she still didn't like it when she couldn't do anything to help.

Spike looked up at Angel questioningly, "What are your thoughts, Peaches?"

"Willow's right and Victoria's quite determined. Even if we went out and left her behind, she'd sneak out again afterwards anyway. She knows what she's doing, and that's as much as we can hope for."

"alright then" Spike nodded, knowing from just one look at Angel's face that the elder vampire was struggling with the choice he had made to let his childe go, and that Victoria must have used her 'defiant eyes' on her sire. He smiled, remembering the many times Victoria had used that look on him in the past.

Angel ducked back out of the library when he heard Victoria's feet descending the stairs, and Giles followed him out. Victoria surveyed the pair seriously.

"Good luck" Angel said quietly. Victoria nodded silently, appreciating the gesture. She approached Giles and shook his hand formally, slipping the scrap of paper into his hand inconspicuously. Giles met Victoria's intense gaze, and caught her mouthed words.

'_In case I don't come back'_

Giles nodded his understanding, and drew the scrap into his own hand, before he stepped back and allowed Angel to pull Victoria into a quick embrace, patting her on the back reassuringly.

"I'll be fine." Victoria said with a smile, stepping back, before she turned and crossed the foyer, opening the door and looking out at the night. She glanced over her shoulder.

"I'll be home by about one, maybe sooner. Depends how long it takes to find me."

"Alright then, good luck" Giles called as the younger vampire stepped out the door, closing it quietly behind her. He met Angel's eyes, and they walked back into the library together. Giles went straight to his desk and inconspicuously opened up Victoria's note.

_Giles,_

_If I don't make it, the Scorpinex demon can be slain by beheading it. It shouldn't matter what type of weapon you use. Remember the sting is fatal to humans, so don't send Buffy or any of the others after it. As far as Angel and Spike are concerned, the front pincers also need to be watched reasonably carefully. They can't kill vampires, but they can still hurt, and you can be thrown by them, which also hurts a lot. _

_Good luck with your future, and those of the rest of the Scooby Gang._

_Victoria Stratford (Victoria the Vengeful) _

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Victoria walked through the darkness, her senses on high alert. She rested her had on the sword that hung from her waist, her fingers wrapped around the handle, ready to tighten and draw the weapon at the shortest notice.

She was in the park, the same one she had been reunited with Spike and Angel in, when she heard it, a slight clicking noise, and the tapping of footsteps. She drew the sword, holding it low as she looked through the darkness, searching for her adversary. She smirked when she spotted the demon with her keen eyes, as it approached her, clicking its large pincers together gleefully.

"Hello Beasty." Victoria smirked.

**A.N. Sorry about the shortness of the chapter, but this seemed like a good spot to end it.**

d her eyes, spotting Angel and Buffy, who were watching her. Victoria go


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Victoria eyed the Scorpinex demon cautiously, but firmly. She let the gold of her demon seep into her blue eyes. The demon clicked his pincers together aggressively, recognising Victoria as the one who had killed his mate, and slaughtered his offspring. It let out a loud growling noise. Victoria centred herself calmly, relaxing her grip on the sword, before tightening it up again as the demon stepped forward. Victoria sidestepped, and the demon side stepped as well, surveying her with its many eyes. Through its scaly skin, Victoria could see the muscles in its stinging tail stretching and tensing, prepared for a fight.

Well, it was a good thing that a fight was what it was going to get.

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Angel glanced up at the clock on the wall of the library, before he resumed his anxious pacing. Spike was lounging on one of the couches casually, watching the older Vampire with amused eyes. Buffy and Willow were sitting side by side, reading books, glancing up occasionally up at Angel. Giles sat in his large leather Chair, with Joyce perched on the arm. He took off his glasses and polished them wearily.

"Angel, sit down, you're making everyone else tired just watching you pace. Don't worry, I'm quite sure she'll be fine"

"She's going up against that thing by herself. Of course I'm going to worry"

"Gee, someone's being parental" Xander teased from where he sat beside Cordelia. Cordy elbowed him roughly in the ribs.

"Ow, Cordy, that hurt." He whined.

"Be nice to Angel, I think it's sweet that it worried, though he's going to pace a hole in the carpets, and he's making me dizzy."

"Angel, she'll be okay, she knows how to kill it, and she's strong, and she's smart." Buffy reassured her boyfriend. Willow nodded supportively.

Angel hesitated, looking at Buffy, before he glanced up at the clock again. Victoria had been gone for an hour, and he was beginning to get worried. He sighed, dropping into the seat beside Buffy, who set her book aside and snuggled up to him.

Fifteen minutes later, Angel was pacing again.

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Victoria darted sideways and arched her sword upwards defensively, warding off the dangerous pincers of the Scorpinex demon. The heavy scales of the demon were like armour that protected it from anything that could damage it. Victoria, on the other hand, didn't have such luck when it came to protective armour. Thankfully, none of her wounds had broken skin yet, but she already had some bruises from where she'd been flung into trees and an inconveniently placed stone wall.

Victoria jumped behind the demon and slashed at its back legs with her sword. A green ooze of blood wept from the wound, and Victoria sighed in relief. She'd drawn the first blood, a victory in itself.

Of course, this made the demon angry, and Victoria had to dive to avoid being struck with the angry demon's tail.

"No need to get pissy. Are you absolutely sure you aren't PMSing?" Victoria teased. The Demon roared and advanced at her again.

"No to the PMSing then." Victoria sighed, and began fighting once again. The demon was stronger than the female that she had killed, and even that was considering she wasn't at full strength. She was defending herself well, but she hadn't had many chances to injure the demon. The fight had seemed to be dragging on, and Victoria knew that when it came to endurance, especially with her in a weakened state, the Scorpinex demon far outclassed her. She needed to do something drastic, and do it soon.

Victoria ducked as the demon swiped at her with its claws. She felt the cut through the air above her head, narrowly missing her. She slashed at the claw from the less heavily armoured underside, and made another deep cut. The demon roared in pain and darted away, its tail raised angrily. Victoria scrambled back to her feet, and dodged the demon's first strike with its tail, but the second one that came immediately afterwards hit home. Victoria gasped in pain as she felt the demon's sting enter her abdomen, going in a long way. Thinking quickly, despite the pain, she swung her sword around quickly, neatly slicing the sting off the end of the demon's tail. The demon roared again in anger and pain as it skittered away. Victoria took the opportunity to yank the sting from her stomach. She could only thank god she wasn't human. Even not taking the poisonous venom of the sting into account, the wound itself was major, and would probably be fatal. Even as it was, Victoria felt her eyes water because of the pain.

"Ow" she whimpered as blood seeped though the hole in her t-shirt. She shook her head, refocusing on the demon, glaring at her with its reptilian eyes. Victoria shifted her grip on her sword and braced herself as the demon lunged forward at her. She sidestepped quickly, swinging her sword upwards at the demons neck. It sliced through, and the demon's head rolled away, completely clear from its body. The body itself collapsed to the ground, and lay still. Victoria sighed, before climbing up onto the carcass and slid her sword a couple of times into the demons scaly back, just to make sure it was dead, before she slowly climbed back off it, whispering a spell under her breath. The entire body, as well as the head, burst into flame, lighting up the park, before the flames quickly faded. Nothing remained of the body except for dusty remains, which blew away into the breeze. Victoria sagged to the ground, no energy left in her to keep going. She glanced at her watch, and though her blurring eyes read that it was only midnight. There was still six whole hours before she absolutely had to be home. Victoria let her eyes slide closed, as her body lay on the grass, surrendering to blissful oblivion.

**A.N. I know this Chapter is REALLY short compared to the other ones, but this just seemed like a good spot to end it. I really had trouble with this chapter, please let me know what you think of it. This story is being continued. When I say end it. It mostly means the chapter, not the entire story. Sorry for the misunderstanding. **

**R.W.**


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Angel had stopped his pacing, and was reading the book Giles had thrown at him in desperation an hour ago. Cordelia and Xander had gone to bed upstairs, and Joyce had gone to bed as well. Willow and Buffy had both fallen asleep on couches, their heads resting in the respective boyfriend's laps. Giles was sitting up reading, rubbing his eyes wearily. Up on the wall, the clocked chimed three times. Three o'clock in the morning. Victoria was late, and they were all worried. It was expected of both Angel and Spike to be worried, especially considering their past relations with Victoria, but it was new for Giles. The English Watcher figured that it must stem from their recently discovered shared lineage. He'd never guessed that he had been related to Victoria the Vengeful, one of the most notorious Vampires in the world in the early twentieth century. Of course, due to Victoria's youthful looks and personality, Giles didn't really see her as a many times great Aunt, but instead as a younger relative, like she was his niece, or younger sister.

Giles took off his glasses and polished them wearily, eyeing Buffy and Willow's sleeping bodies. Oh to be young and able to sleep on couches without getting a sore back

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Victoria woke up groggily, her head swirling unpleasantly. Yep, the dose of the toxin she'd got this time was a hell of a lot stronger the one she'd received last time she'd copped it.

Speaking of Hell, Victoria knew that if she wanted to avoid going there, she'd better get out of the park before the sun rose, She rolled onto over stomach first, before slowly and shakily using her arms to lift her upper body, wincing as the movement sent pain flaring through her beaten body.

"God, I'm getting too old for this" She whimpered to herself as she got to her feet, staggering a little as her legs struggled to support her. Victoria took a quick glance at the hole in her shirt. Her entire shirt was drenched in blood, and there was a large pool of blood on the ground where she had fallen unconscious. Such a large amount of blood loss would have been fatal had Victoria been human, but it left Victoria feeling very weak, dizzy, shaky, and hungry for some blood to replenish what had been lost.

Victoria waited for the world to stop spinning before she began walking towards the mansion slowly. She knew that the way she was walking was very reminiscent of a drunken person, but the world kept tilting suddenly, and she kept stumbling over the air. The few people and vampires, that she saw took one look at her blood covered clothes, and her drunken stagger, and decided to avoid her. Victoria was inwardly grateful.

It took her half an hour to meander her way back to the mansion, mostly because she kept getting lost and forgetting where exactly Angel's mansion was exactly. By the time she stumbled through the front gates, it was three thirty in the morning, according to Victoria's watch. Her vision had been getting worse with every stumbling, staggering step that she'd taken, and Victoria had been thankful to finally pass through the wrought iron gates of the long gravel driveway that led up to the mansion. She walked up the driveway, her head tilted to the side to compensate for the tilt the world had adopted. The mansion blurred in and out of sight, and the world had begun to darken rapidly. Victoria knew that she was dangerously close to passing out again. She thanked the powers for the fact that she was already almost back home.

Victoria staggered up the stairs that lead up onto the front porch of the mansion and leant heavily against the oak door, blindly reaching for the doorhandle. Once she found it and turned it, allowing her body weight to push the door open. She stumbled over the threshold, and leant against the door to close it. She let her eyes fall on the figure that stood at the opposite end of the foyer, near the kitchen, before her legs gave way beneath her, and Victoria fell to the floor with a loud thud.

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At Three thirty in the morning, Giles rubbed his eyes wearily as she woke from his short sleep. He'd fallen asleep at his desk, and had been woken when Spike had said something to Angel. Buffy and Willow were still sleeping soundly, and Giles decided that he needed a nice cup of tea to keep him awake. Also, since the two vampires seemed resolved to stay up, awaiting Victoria's return, they would appreciate something to drink as well. The watcher got to his feet, groaning quietly to himself as his joints protested at the movement. Spike looked up and grinned slightly at the watcher's discomfort, but said nothing, mindful of Willow resting beside him. Giles shot a glare at the bleached blonde vampire before he left the library, intent on waling to the kitchen. He made it halfway across the mansion foyer before he heard it. Muffled footsteps on the front porch of the mansion. Giles froze as he saw the door creak open, and a small, hunched over figure staggered through the door, before pushing it closed behind them. It took Giles a moment to recognise Victoria, and when he did his jaw dropped. She was drenched in blood, and judging from the almost translucent pallor of her skin, it was all Victoria's. She looked up at his from where she stood, leaning weakly against the door, before her legs shook beneath her, and she fell to the ground with a loud thump. Giles watched her for a second, before his mind caught up with what he had seen.

"ANGEL" He yelled urgently.

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Angel sat bolt upright when he heard Giles' call. The next second his nose was filled with a scent that always made Angelus growl angrily. Blood, Victoria's blood, and lots of it too.

He was on his feet in a moment, bolting from the library, leaving a half awake Buffy and Willow, and a very worried Spike in his wake. Angel felt his unbeating heart constrict in fear when he saw Victoria kneeling in the doorway, her head bowed in weakness, drenched in her own blood. He was at her side within seconds of him seeing her. He crouched beside her and pulled his childe up into his arms. She whimpered in pain at the contact.

"Shh, it's alright, little one. Sire is here." Angel murmured gently and reassuringly into her ear. Victoria cracked her eyes open. They were gold tinted from the pain.

"I got him" She told him, grinning weakly, "He got me, but I got him more."

"Good girl" Angel said gently, knowing that she was seeking his approval, "You can rest now, he's not going to get you, or anyone else."

"Okay" Victoria weakly replied, before she relaxed completely and passed out in the protective arms of her sire. Giles cleared his throat nervously.

"Is there anything I should get you, Angel?" he asked, watching the Sire and Childe carefully.

"Four mugs of blood, one for Spike, and the rest for me. I'm going to have to feed her a lot of blood to make up for what she lost. I'm also going to need the first aid kit, and a bowl and cloth so I can clean her wounds. In the morning could you go and get some human blood as well, I think she's going to need it?"

"Of course" The watcher nodded, before hurrying to go and get the blood and first aid kit. Spike hurried in, followed by the witch and the slayer, having explained to Buffy and Willow that it seemed that Victoria had finally come home. Spike swore when he saw how much blood the younger vampire had lost.

"Bloody Hell, Peaches, I knew from the smell that she'd lost a lot of blood, but I didn't think it was that bad."

"She's exhausted, and drained. If she was human, these wounds would definitely be fatal. Elder vampires would have given up and dusted themselves from wounds this bad." Angel softly said, pride leaking into his voice at his childe's resilience.

"Not to mention the venom of the Scorpinex demon." Willow sleepily added from where she stood behind Spike. Angel nodded and carefully hoisted Victoria up into his arms, before he walked over to the stairs and began to climb, careful to avoid jostling his precious burden too much. Willow hurried off to help Giles get the things Angel had told him to collect, while Buffy and Spike followed the dark haired vampire upstairs.

Angel took Victoria back to her own room and lay her on the large bed. It was a mistake on his part, as it just made Victoria look even smaller and more defenceless that she usually did. Angel carefully slid Victoria's jacket from her shoulders and tugged it gently down her arms until it was free. He tossed it to the side. At the same time, Spike worked on taking Victoria's bloodstained shoes off, while Buffy rummaged in Victoria's bag for some clean clothes. She found a loose fitting pair of pants, was looking for a t-shirt when Angel gently took her arm.

"She can have one of my t-shirts. It will be nice and loose, so it won't rub on her wounds, and it'll smell like me, which will keep her calm."

"Okay," Buffy said, agreeing with what he said. It made sense, and she knew from what Angel, Victoria and Spike had told her ever since Victoria had joined the Scoobies, that Angel had never, and would never be attracted to Victoria romantically, that he saw her as his daughter, the daughter that he would never have. She also knew that Victoria had admitted that one of the things she missed the most about the 'good old days' when Angelus, Darla, Dru, Spike, and she had run riot throughout Europe was when She would be allowed to lie with Angelus in his big bed, just the two of them, and he'd hug her and she would be surrounded by his scent and feel safe.

Angel hurried out of the room to go and fetch the shirt, and Buffy ushered Spike out as well, before she carefully stripped Victoria of her clothes, and changed her into the clean pants and a clean bra. Angel came back in, and upon seeing what Buffy had done, wordlessly handed her one of his shirts, and walked back out. Buffy dressed the small vampire in it, before she called out to the two waiting vampires.

Angel hurried into the room, followed by Spike, Giles and Willow, who were both carrying trays. Angel and Spike both held a mug of blood each. Buffy moved aside as Angel went straight to his childe's side. Victoria hadn't stirred the whole time Buffy had been changing her clothes, and it obviously worried the dark vampire. Willow went into Victoria's bathroom and filled the bowl she was carrying with warm water, before she added a soothing, healing potion to the water. In the past, it had been effective against Angel and Spike's wounds, so hopefully it would help with Victoria as well. She tossed a face washer into the bowl, and carried it carefully ito the main room, where Angel and Giles were examining Victoria's wounds. They had stopped bleeding, but they still were very red and inflamed. Willow handed Angel the bowl, and moved back to watch Angel and Giles beginning to patch the youngest of the souled vampires up.

**A.N. I'm not overly impressed with this chapter, but it got where I wanted it to go. I have decided that I shall split this story into three or more parts. Each part will be kind of long (i.e., I plan for this chapter to be maybe the third last chapter of the first story.) Tell me what you think. **

**R.W.**


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The first thing Victoria felt when she woke up was the fiery pain radiating from her abdomen. She whimpered, almost pathetically, in pain, before she noticed the second thing. A strong, sturdy arm wrapped around her shoulders, holding her against a cool, muscular chest. The hand attached to one of the arms rubbed her shoulder soothingly. Victoria caught a faint whiff of a familiar scent and everything came flooding back, Angel holding her when she'd come home, the Scorpinex demon stabbing her with its tail, her finally killing it, and struggling back to the mansion.

"Shhh, Little one" Angel whispered into her ear. Victoria could here his Irish brogue in his voice, and instantly knew that it wasn't just Angel, but Angelus holding her and comforting her. She forced herself to open her eyes, looking up at her frowning sire. Why was he frowning, had she done something wrong? A sudden memory flashed into her mind, Angelus standing over her, roaring in rage as he brought the red hot poker down on her already tortured body as she tried to bring herself to regret ever meeting Arthur that night at the ball.

Victoria realised with a start that some of the fear she had felt that night, many, many years ago, must have shown on her face, because Angel's look softened.

"It's okay, it's only me. I won't hurt you. I was worried about you, little one."

"Angel" Victoria croaked out, her throat dry.

"I'm here, little one. Here, drink up." Angel vamped and cut his wrist with his fang, before offering the gash to Victoria, who hesitated. Waiting for Angel to nod and smile encouragingly before she dared to drink. The sweet taste of Sire's blood filled her mouth, and Victoria closed her eyes to savour the taste of the potent liquid. She could feel Angel's hand on her head, gently stroking it as she suckled from him, feeling the intensity of the pain in her stomach beginning to fade. She opened her eyes again, looking up at her sire's face, taking in every detail, committing it to memory. Angel regained his human visage and continued to stroke her head.

"I missed you, Angelus," Victoria mumbled around Angel's wrist.

"I missed you too, little one. Get some sleep."

Victoria nestled close to Angel's side, resting her head against his chest, over where his heart once beat, before she closed her eyes and succumbed to the welcoming darkness once again.

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Angel lay beside Victoria on the bed, watching as his childe slept. She frowned in her sleep, and her shoulders were still slightly tense. Angel frowned as he gently rubbed her arm, absentmindedly offering comfort to Victoria. He could hear footsteps, and a pulse approaching the room, and he knew that the footsteps were too heavy for any of the girls. Giles poked his head through the doorway.

"Giles, what's wrong?" Angel frowned. There was a worried look upon the watchers face, and Angel didn't like it, not one bit.

"I've been doing some reading about the poison of the Scorpinex demon, and I just thought I might inform you of what I found."

"Go on" Angel nodded, listening intently. He sat up, but stayed beside Victoria, who shifted in her sleep and whimpered.

"The toxin is very acidic, it probably feels to Victoria as though her stomach is on fire, and it also affects the brain, slowing down reflexes, of course that wasn't so apparent with Victoria because of the blood loss. Another thing the venom does to the brain is it heightens and exaggerates feelings, mostly negative ones, like hate, anger, and fear."

"I think I've seen that in her," Angel quietly said, remembering the fear in Victoria's eyes that he had seen when she'd woken up.

"Yes, well, I'm not surprised really. In most cases, not Victoria's though, death usually occurs shortly after the victims falls into unconsciousness. There is no known antidote to the poison."

"She was trying to protect Buffy and the others. She knew how lethal that thing was, and she doesn't know the capabilities of the rest of the gang." Angel softly said, realisation dawning on his face.

"I think she doubted her own ability to take it down. She gave me a note before she left telling me how to kill it if she didn't make it back."

"Victoria, what did you think you were doing?" Angel scolded gently, his gaze on the sleeping vampire's face.

"Ah, she is still a teenager at heart, Angel. They live for giving you grey hairs and scaring the daylights out of you, trust me; I went through Buffy, Xander and Willow simultaneously. I celebrated almost as much as they did the day that Willow turned twenty, that those years were finally over. Now, there is another teenager around."

"I hope you're not waiting for her to turn twenty, because it isn't going to happen, not unless they find a way to reverse vampirism." Angel said with a slight smile. Giles chuckled.

"Oh, I'm not waiting. It's quite refreshing in fact. From what she's said, her teenaged years weren't much fun for her; it's nice that she's taking the opportunity to have a second chance."

Angel nodded in agreement, but didn't say anything. He merely watched as his childe slept on, huddled into his side.

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The next time Victoria woke up, it was almost noon. Angel was sleeping beside her, holding her close to him. She stayed still, knowing that he'd been up for the entire night sitting beside her, and that if she moved he would wake up again.

The burning in her stomach was still there, but it wasn't as intense as it had been, and her head felt clearer than it had before, though it still felt a little fuzzy. It reminded Victoria a little of coming down off a high, just like she had so many times throughout the seventies. Most of the time, she hadn't even needed to buy her own drugs, she'd just bitten people who were already high.

Victoria dragged herself back into the present as memories of the past came back to haunt her, but not before she shuddered at the memory. Angel woke with a start at her sudden movement.

"Victoria, are you alright?" he asked, spotting his childe's open eyes in the darkened room.

Victoria gave a small nod, 'Better than I did"

"Do you want something to drink?"

Victoria was about to decline when her stomach grumbled, the movement causing her to wince. Angel vamped and gashed his wrist on his fangs, before regaining his human visage. He offered the bleeding limb to Victoria, before relaxing against the pillows. Victoria gently began feeding from her sire, watching as he slowly dozed off again, soothed by the sensation of her feeding off of him. She smiled, because it was usually the other way around, and refocused on her feeding.

Once she had drunk her fill, she loosely held Angel's wrist as she watched as it quickly healed, before leaning back against her pillows. Angel still had an arm around her, practically holding her down. She knew that she would never escape from his grip without waking him up. Back before Angel had gotten his soul back, on days when it was just the two of them, Victoria had used to try and make a game of it. She'd never succeeded, and Angelus had always given her a sly smirk when his grip on her would tighten, telling her that she had lost.

Victoria let her eyes drift closed as she let herself drift off to sleep again, knowing that sleep was the thing that would help her recover the fastest.

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Victoria reawakened as the sun sank beneath the horizon, whimpering slightly as she returned to consciousness. She felt a cool hand gently touch her hand, and she opened her eyes, surprised to see Spike's blue eyes staring blatantly back at her.

"Hey Queenie, nice of you to join the unliving once again." He quipped teasingly. Victoria frowned and swatted at him weakly with her other hand.

"No need to get violent, Queenie" Spike scolded, a smirk on his face. Victoria raised her eyebrow.

"Spike, you are so annoying" Victoria whined.

"Yep, that's me." Spike grinned.

"So, where's Angel?"

"In other words, why the hell are you here, I want my Daddy?" Spike teased. Victoria glared at him, still in too much pain to deal with the older bleached blonde vampire's antics.

"Fine, He's down stairs training with Buffy, and then they're going out patrolling. He told me to stay in here with you, and to give you some blood when you woke up. How are you feeling anyway? I think if we could get grey hairs, Angelus would've got some last night when he saw you about to pass out in the doorway. Damn, I'm babbling like Willow."

"I think she pulls babbling off better than you do, Spike." Victoria joked, "I'm feeling better, my stomach doesn't hurt nearly as much now."

It was true, the burning pain had faded and diminished to a dull ache, and her head felt clearer than it had since the poison had been introduced to her bloodstream, although Victoria figured that she wouldn't quite be up to a game of trivial pursuit, or any other activity that required deep thought.

"That's good" Spike acknowledged, surveying the younger vampire with slightly narrowed eyes. She did look better than what she had before, and when he, Giles and Angel had changed the bandage on her stomach, the amount of healing that had taken place was surprising. It appeared that Victoria's recovery would be speedy, thankfully. He didn't know how much longer he could go with a highly worried Angel under the same roof as him.

"So, what have I missed out on?" Victoria asked as she began to drink from the mug Spike handed her.

"Not much. The girls went out shopping today, so it was a bit quiet around the hose, and Xander had to work, so I had to amuse myself. Naturally, I was bored out of my brain."

"What about Giles?"

"I wouldn't dream of pissing him off, pet, he's the one wit the key to the whiskey cabinet" Spike said with a grin.

Victoria smiled, before she paused, "Whiskey…" she murmured.

"Pet, there is no way Angel is going to let you drink after what happened last night," Spike told her, still smiling. Victoria shook her head.

"It's not that, what date is it today?"

"Tenth of March, why?"

Victoria exhaled pointlessly, "Good, still plenty of time then."

"Oi, till what?" Spike asked, but Victoria smiled whimsically and sipped from her mug, not saying a word.

Spike scowled and gave up, seeing the defiant look in the younger vampire's eyes again. She wasn't going to share, and it wasn't worth him trying.

**A.N. Here's the latest chapter, only one more to go of this story, and then the next one in the series. **


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Victoria smiled down the phone as it was quickly picked up on the other end.

"Victoria?" an anxious voice asked.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Oh, we were so worried. How did it go?" asked Daphne, her werewolf friend back at home. Victoria rolled her eyes and leant back against her pillows.

"It went fine. I killed it, but he got me with his tail before I did. Angel has been coddling me ever since I got back."

"You probably needed it." Daphne wisely said. Victoria grinned.

"Yeah, I kind of did. I was so out of it, but it was worth it, no one got hurt."

"Other than you."

"Yeah, other than me. So, what're things like up there?"

"Cold, but very quiet, which is good, considering you're not here."

"I'll be back in a month, I promise, before it gets too busy again."

"You just want to wait until it warms up a bit more."

"Of course, I'm working on my tan" Victoria said seriously. Down the phone line, Daphne cracked up laughing, and Victoria was not far behind.

"Listen, I need to ask you a favour." Victoria asked.

"What? Who's causing problems for you now?"

"No-one. You know my green shirt, the one with the writing? Could you send it down?"

"Sure, why"

"It's St. Paddy's day next week and I am living with my very Irish sire. You do the math."

"Oh, I get it. Is there anything else you want sent down?"

"My sword and my other preferred weaponry, if it can be arranged, and some more clothes please. I hate using other people's weaponry, and I'm over washing clothes."

"Doesn't everyone and isn't everyone? All right, I'll express courier the package to you. What's the address again?"

Victoria gave the address and said goodbye, before she hung up and leant back against her pillows. Spike had finally left her alone, and Angel had gone out patrolling with Buffy, after checking in on her. Victoria could smell Willow's unique scent, powerful with magic, and knew that she and Spike were downstairs together. Giles and Joyce had told her that they would be in the library if she had needed them, and when she'd asked Giles if she could call her friends back home, he'd happily given her the cordless phone to use.

She turned her head and eyed the empty mug of blood that sat on the bedside table. Ever since the attack, she'd been living off Angel's blood, and human blood, and it had done her a lot of good. Already she felt nearly up to full strength, which was a considerable feat considering that less than two days before she'd been seriously injured. Victoria sighed and snuggled down beneath the blankets.

"Definitely an advantage to undead status, you heal exceptionally quickly," She whispered to herself.

Had she had her own way, Victoria would be up and out of bed, but Angel had blocked her attempts, threatening to chain her down to the bed if she tried to get up before he told her to. Victoria, unsure of how serious her sire was, had decided to err on the side of caution. She leant her head into the soft pillows and closed her eyes, figuring that there was nothing for her to do except rest.

When Victoria next opened her eyes, she could sense that it was almost daybreak. She could smell Angel, and Buffy, and knew that they were in the house, probably in Angel's bedroom. Spike and Willow's scent also lingered, and Victoria couldn't help but roll her eyes at how little things had changed over the last 105 years. Angelus, or a version of him, in one room, with his blonde lover. William, or a version of him, in another room, with his magically inclined lover, Victoria in the middle having been seriously injured (though this time it wasn't a rival Vampire clan, or the watcher's council, or even from Angelus or Darla getting a little too enthusiastic with the torture, which was a change)

Speaking of Watchers, Victoria had a sneaking suspicion that their resident Watcher and a certain Slayer's mother had spent the night together, and Victoria couldn't help but think that it was about time, agreeing with the opinions of Spike, Willow and Cordelia. Even Buffy didn't object wholly to the idea, which should have been approval enough for the pairing in question.

Victoria sighed. She felt wide awake, but it was the time of day where she was usually heading off to sleep. The enforced bed rest had completely screwed around her body clock. Victoria rolled over onto her stomach, relishing the freedom of movement, and the lack of pain. Now all she felt was a slight twinge in her stomach when she twisted suddenly, and the bandages were a thing of the past, having been removed the previous night by Angel.

Victoria pulled herself up into a sitting position and stretched her arms up, feeling her stomach tighten slightly at the stretch. Okay, so not totally pain free quite yet, but given time. It was a work in progress.

It wasn't as though she was planning on going anywhere in the immediate future.

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Victoria smiled as she walked alongside the Scooby gang as they all returned from a patrol. Angel and Buffy walked in front of her, clasping hands, and huddled close together. Victoria rolled her eyes when she heard Angel whispering into Buffy's ear. A downside to Vampiredom, you heard way more than you ever wanted to.

Almost a full week had passed since the Scorpinex demon had fought Victoria and lost, and they younger vampire was back up and about, joining in on the group patrols once again. Victoria was quite content in her position in the group. Although she was nowhere as close to any of them as the others were, with the possible exception of Angel and Spike, they made her feel welcome and included, and they had her back on patrols.

During the day, when she wasn't sleeping, or training with Angel and Spike, Victoria would spend time with the other members of the gang. She'd read and research in the library with Giles, or help Joyce out when she was making dinner when she and Buffy came over to research. She'd train with Buffy, and talk to Willow about her knowledge of Magic, and trade hints and secrets with her. She'd joke with Xander, and discuss the places she'd visited in the world to Cordelia, including discussing the best places for shopping.

On the Fifteenth of March, Victoria's package arrived in the mail, Giles taking it carefully from the courier who had knocked on the door during daylight hours. He promptly took it down to the gym, where Victoria was watching Angel and Spike working out. She smiled when she spotted the Watcher.

"Ah, Giles, are you up for some entertainment? I'm willing to bet that one of them is gonna draw blood soon."

Giles chuckled and shook his head, "The odds of that aren't worth betting against. Your package has just arrived."

"Brilliant." Victoria beamed, taking the large box from Giles.

"What is in there, it didn't feel overly heavy."

"It shouldn't be. It's just some of my preferred weaponry, the stuff I had to leave behind when I left, and some clothes, because doing laundry every few days is getting old."

Giles smiled, knowing that the younger Vampire had taken to doing all of the machine washing in the house, although she refused to do anyone else's hand washing, as a matter of principal.

"Fair enough then" he acknowledged as Victoria used a knife to slit the packing tape around the box. She opened up the cardboard flaps to reveal heavy padding, namely bubble wrap. Giles groaned. Despite their age, Xander, Willow and Buffy all loved the stuff, and he knew that the meeting tonight would be very noisy, with a constant pop-pop-pop in the background. Judging from the way Victoria's eyes lit up, the three youths would have a accomplice.

Oh Joy

Victoria pulled the bubble wrap out of the box carefully, and revealed the rest of the box's content. A long sword, in a leather sheath lay against one side, spanning the entire length of the box. Then there were a couple of crossbows, a healthy collection of stakes, two knives, and two plastic bags with what he assumed were clothes in them. Victoria picked up the plastic bags, sifting through them, and grinning when she spotted something, although Giles couldn't exactly see what it was.

"Excellent, she found it."

"Found what, exactly? " Giles asked, slightly apprehensively.

Victoria turned to the watcher and smiled sweetly, "Oh, you'll find out."

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At ten o'clock in the morning, on St. Patricks day, Victoria climbed out of bed and dressed herself in Jeans and a black leather jacket, with her special St. Patricks day green t-shirt hidden underneath. She headed down to the kitchen, and as she warmed her morning blood up, she called her greetings out to Giles.

Surprisingly, neither of the two elder vampires had woken up yet, but Victoria was fine to wait. She sat at the kitchen table and drank her blood while reading the newspaper. She did the morning quiz in the paper,, once she had finished reading it, and started on the crossword puzzle before Spike staggered into the Kitchen blearily.

"Mornin'" He yawned sleepily, stretching widely.

"Good morning" Victoria greeted, a wry smile on her face.

"What are you doing up so early?" Spike asked as he prepared his morning mug of Blood.

"Had a feeling about today, that something different was going to happen." Victoria evaded, still smiling.

"Alright then." Spike shrugged at the odd behaviour, before he took the paper off of Victoria and began to read it. Victoria scowled at the elder vampire, and snatched the news paper back, removing the page with the puzzles on it, before giving it back.

"Aww, that's the page with the funnies on it though." Spike whined, and Victoria stuck her tongue out at him.

They spent the next ten minutes in silence until Angel strode in, a very happy look on his face.

"What are you happy about?" Spike scowled, still sulking.

"I feel very patriotic today," Angel replied, letting his accent slip dangerously. Spike froze.

"Fuck" he swore, glancing at the calendar up on the kitchen wall. He glanced across at Victoria, whose shoulders were shaking from her silent laughter. Angel smirked and pulled off his jacket, revealing a green woollen jumper

"Oh bullocks" Spike swore again.

"Where be your green, Will?" Angel asked, slipping into his Irish brogue some more.

"You know I don't care about your sodding Irish holidays" Spike began, before Angel lunched across the room, pinching at Spikes arms.

"Ow you sodding wanker!" Spike yelped, glaring at his Grandsire. Vicotira gave up on being quiet and starting cackling hysterically.

"What about you, missy?" Angel asked/. Victoria smirked and opened up her jacket.

"I had it made years ago, as an inside joke with my gang" she explained.

Spike and Angel both took one look at the embroidery on the emerald green t-shirt, before they dissolved into laughter themselves.

'_Kiss Me… My Sire is Irish!'_

_**TO BE CONTINUED**_

**A.N. Well, here we are, at the end of the first instalment of a trilogy that is now one third complete…approximately. I hope you've enjoyed reading this story, I know I've enjoyed writing it. Reviews are wonderful, and help writers improve, and be motivated to keep writing. Especially this last chapter, because I kind of struggled with it, and it took a couple of goes to get right. I'm still not sure. Tell me what you think **

**I'm not sure when the nest instalment of the trilogy will be up, so keep an eye out for it.**

**Thank-you to everyone who has reviewed or Alerted or favourited this story along the way. Your support has been great.**

**R.W. **


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